What phenomenon limits the detail and color perceived when viewing faint nebulae with the naked eye or small telescopes?
Answer
Operating in scotopic vision, where rods blend faint variations into a uniform gray haze
Faint light forces the eye into rod-dominated scotopic vision, which cannot register subtle variations in color or brightness, causing the nebula to appear as an indistinct haze.
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Nebulae: Crash Course Astronomy #36 - YouTube
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