What color are asteroids?

[Weirdo]

What color are asteroids?

An interesting little resource for anyone who might want to paint their spacecraft(or space-based ground units) in some sort of camo.

I know chemical compositions and thus colors can probably vary widely across systems other than Sol, but it's something to start from.

[monbvol]

Barring anything really radical I would tend to think those compositions would hold true.  So a pretty safe bet would be a nice dark slate grey with some lighter tones to give the visual impression of impact craters.

[Weirdo]

It might depend on where the units in question are more likely to be stationed - on the silicate rocks that are easier to have habitats dug into them, or the metal ones that are worth mining.

It should be noted that while StratOps has no rules for spacecraft hiding on an asteroid, Battleforce does. :)

[monbvol]

Fair, I mean you're going to want to use an object that is high in iron to help confuse enemy non-visual sensors so going for a more brown/red scheme probably would be a better bet really since otherwise you'd stick out like a sore thumb to non-visual detection long before whoever you were trying to hide from got into visual spotting range.

[Weirdo]

If we're talking about spacecraft, consider that you might not have a choice in which rock you hide on. Might have to just go with what's available in the area and timeframe. If you're setting up an ambush in advance you can pick and choose, but if you're trying to hide from a WarShip that's only a day behind you, you might find yourself less a chooser and more a beggar.

[monbvol]

Given the realities I presumed we were talking pre-planned ambush scenarios, because otherwise there is no point in painting a space craft to hide on a space rock.  The sensors available to Battletech space craft would make any other scenario quite moot.

[Weirdo]

If that were true, there wouldn't be any hidden unit rules at all, even in Battleforce.

[monbvol]

Do you mean double blind?  Because I would contend Hidden Rules does mean pre-planned ambushes by definition as often it does take special measures to actually hide units.

[Fallen_Raven]

Fair, I mean you're going to want to use an object that is high in iron to help confuse enemy non-visual sensors so going for a more brown/red scheme probably would be a better bet really since otherwise you'd stick out like a sore thumb to non-visual detection long before whoever you were trying to hide from got into visual spotting range.

I can't speak to the non-visual sensors, but I can say that many iron minerals don't take on their characteristic colors until exposed to oxygen and water. I have a piece of sandstone on my desk that has been turning in the 4 months since I pulled it from the tailings pile, and its only started to go from grey to cream in the last week.

[Daryk]

+1 for SCIENCE! :D

[Failure16]

Excellent. So, my hundred lava-rock asteroids do just fine (if a little dark and probably too cratered, but dem's da breaks).

[glitterboy2098]

Excellent. So, my hundred lava-rock asteroids do just fine (if a little dark and probably too cratered, but dem's da breaks).

remarkably well, actually.
https://www.popsci.com/ryugu-color-photo-asteroid/



thats a photograph taken by a lander the Hayabusa2 space probe dropped off on the asteroid 162173 ryugu

[Failure16]

Looks like an unfortunate place to land if you intend to do anything but walk away from the LZ. Nice image, though. Thanks.

[Luciora]

Sci-fi horror movies have me expecting all the white dots to be eyes and something about to jump out at me.  Or something hiding further in the darkness.

remarkably well, actually.
https://www.popsci.com/ryugu-color-photo-asteroid/



thats a photograph taken by a lander the Hayabusa2 space probe dropped off on the asteroid 162173 ryugu

[Weirdo]

Sci-fi horror movies have me expecting all the white dots to be eyes and something about to jump out at me.  Or something hiding further in the darkness.

I mean, if that rock was in Taurian space, you'd be spot on...

[Daryk]

Did they filter out the star field in the background? ???

[monbvol]

Did they filter out the star field in the background? ???

No, it actually takes fairly specific settings to capture stars in those sorts of situations.

[Daryk]

Ah, thanks! :)

[cray]

Usually any well-lit surface makes it hard to spot stars in the background, be it on Earth, in Earth orbit, or near extraterrestrial surfaces like the moon and asteroids.

[glitterboy2098]

Usually any well-lit surface makes it hard to spot stars in the background, be it on Earth, in Earth orbit, or near extraterrestrial surfaces like the moon and asteroids.

one of the reasons that a moonless night is best for star gazing if you want to see a lot of stars. also why so few people nowadays in our age of ubiquitous light pollution know how amazing the night sky really looks.

[monbvol]

And even away from light pollution as I understand the principles of photography there are certain configurations one must make to the camera to get good starfield photos, doubly so when you do have a surface like that in frame as well.

[cray]

one of the reasons that a moonless night is best for star gazing if you want to see a lot of stars. also why so few people nowadays in our age of ubiquitous light pollution know how amazing the night sky really looks.

I didn't see the Milky Way until I was 35 and I'm a space nut. Recently, I was with some cousins (also in their 30s) taking a vacation in BFE and they were awed by seeing the Milky Way for the first time. Light pollution is serious stuff. On the flip side, one of my favorite personal sky shots (of the ISS, Saturn, moon, and Venus) was taken in the bowels of a large city.

[Charistoph]

I was a Boy Scout, about 14-15, at Camp Geronimo when I first saw the Milky Way in anything other than pictures.  Was picked out for the Order of the Arrow and we slept in a field under the stars.  I laid awake for a while to just star at the Milky Way above me.  I could even see the form of it without my glasses.

Keep in mind, I had been camping for years up to this point, but I guess I was just too close to Phoenix in most of them, or the moon was shining.

One of these years I want to take my kids to one of those places that have minimal light pollution.  Living in Arizona helps a bit.  Most of the light pollution is centered in Phoenix away from the woods.

[BATTLEMASTER]

I'd think that black would also be a valid aerospace camo - that's the color of space after all    Kinda like how USAF fighter jets are painted the average color of the sky - blue/gray with gray/white clouds.

But for both space and planet-side operations, I think gray would be the best generalist color - asteroid-looking in space and sky-looking on the planet!  Just black would stick out like an F-117 flying in daylight.

[Daryk]

Asteroid looking in space is about useless... they're a VERY tiny percentage of the "sky"... ;)

[Weirdo]

Unless that's where you live/work/are guarding. :)

[Daryk]

Sure, but your sky is still MOSTLY the black... ;)

[Weirdo]

Either you're sitting on/near an asteroid trying to hide and a camo scheme makes a bit of sense, or you're screaming through space and paint jobs don't matter. :)