Have you heard? NASA is hiding the true colors of Mars from the public. It’s all over the Internet. Pass it on.

Search for the “color of Mars” on Google, and you’ll find a host of conspiracy theories about NASA covering up the true colors of the red planet.

Some suggest NASA is deliberately trying to make the planet seem less hospitable for human life. Others argue NASA is secretly removing any evidence of vegetation. They point to the wide differences in hues found in various images of Mars.

Here are links to two sites that raise this issue: www.libertythink.com/totalinformation/BlueMars.htm and www.enterprisemission.com/colors.htm.

Could NASA really be engaged in a massive cover up? Not likely. Then what’s going on? Why is there such a disparity in the Mars images?

The best explanation can be found here: www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/hoagland/mars_colors.html. The photographic filters onboard the spacecraft weren’t designed to mimic the human eye. The filters were designed for scientific measurement. In addition, the color balance on Mars can shift for a variety of reasons, as it can here on Earth.

In short, there are technical explanations for the color differences that are far more believable than conspiracy theories where hundreds, if not thousands, of people are sworn to secrecy.