Blue dust nebula: azure on blue-blackBlue-black sky, deep blue dust, azure glow, pale blue haze, snow white stars.
Dark dust cloud: rust on blackDeep indigo sky, black dust, rust rim, amber glow, cream stars.
Ember cloud: amber on dark brownDark brown sky, burnt orange cloud, amber glow, pale gold core, powder blue stars.
Glowing gas cloud: rose on blackBlack sky, maroon deep cloud, crimson glow, rose bright gas, white stars.
Green wisp: emerald on blackBlack sky, emerald wisp, mint edge, hot pink thread, pale gray stars.
Purple veil: violet on soft blackSoft black sky, deep violet veil, violet folds, lilac light, ivory stars.
Ring of gas: scarlet and aquaBlack sky, scarlet outer ring, orange ring, aqua center, pale cyan star.
Rose and blue cloud: rose pink and sky blueMidnight blue sky, rose pink cloud, mulberry shadow, sky blue glow, white stars.
Star nursery: coral on dark plumDark plum sky, brown dust, coral gas, peach glow, pale cyan new stars.
Teal and gold pillars: turquoise and goldInk blue sky, umber pillars, gold edges, turquoise gas, pale yellow stars.
Show all 62 palettes (52 more)
Deep space 10
Between the stars: snow white on navyBlack void, navy depth, deep violet haze, denim dust, snow white star.
Cold deep: ice blue on dark tealInk blue void, dark teal depth, deep teal haze, slate gray dust, ice blue star.
Dark limb: pale blue and cobaltBlue-black void, charcoal depth, midnight blue haze, cobalt edge, pale blue light.
Dust lane: pale gold on indigoSoft black void, deep blue depth, indigo haze, dark gray dust, pale gold star.
Faint smudge: cream on deep indigoBlue-black void, deep indigo depth, plum haze, mauve dust, cream light.
Far stars: white on blackBlack void, ink blue depth, deep indigo haze, slate blue dust, white stars.
One far sun: pale yellow on navyBlue-black void, navy depth, deep violet shadow, indigo haze, pale yellow star.
Passing comet: pale cyan on midnight blueSoft black void, midnight blue depth, deep blue haze, steel blue tail, pale cyan comet.
Signal light: lemon on deep purpleInk blue void, deep purple depth, slate blue haze, deep teal dust, lemon light.
Violet deep: pale lavender on deep purpleBlack void, dark plum depth, deep purple haze, grape dust, pale lavender star.
Planets 10
Earth: azure and whiteDeep blue ocean, azure shallow sea, green land, sand desert, white cloud.
Jupiter: cream and leather brownLeather brown belt, caramel band, cream zone, wheat pale zone, brick red spot.
Mars sky: tan over chestnutChestnut ground, brick red rock, terracotta dust, tan sky, pale gold sun.
Mars: rust and caramelUmber shadow, rust rock, copper dust, caramel plain, snow white ice cap.
Mercury: warm gray and charcoalCharcoal shadow, dark gray crater, steel gray plain, warm gray ridge, pale gray bright ray.
Neptune: sky blue and denimDenim shade, dusty blue limb, sky blue disk, powder blue light, snow white cloud.
Saturn: pale gold and boneBronze shadow, ochre band, pale gold globe, butter pale band, bone rings.
Uranus: pale cyan and tealTeal limb, turquoise shade, aqua disk, pale cyan light, gray rings.
Venus sky: amber over rustDark brown rock, rust ground, orange haze, amber low sky, white high sky.
Venus: white and pale grayBlack space, charcoal deep shade, gray shade, pale gray cloud, white bright cloud.
Stars 12
Albireo: amber and aquaAqua hotter star, amber cooler star, pale gold glow, ink blue sky, black deep sky.
Alnitak to Antares: blue to orangeAlnitak, Achernar, Vega, Alpha Centauri, Antares: classes O, B, A, G, M, hottest first.
Mintaka to Canopus: blue to blue-whiteMintaka, Achernar, Regulus, Fomalhaut, Canopus: classes O, B, B, A, A, hottest first.
Pleiades: pale blue on navySnow white bright stars, pale blue star glow, sky blue dust haze, navy sky, blue-black deep sky.
Pollux to Tiaki: peach to orangePollux, Alphard, Aldebaran, Betelgeuse, Tiaki: classes K, K, K, M, M, hottest first.
Rigel to Arcturus: pale blue to peachRigel, Sirius, Canopus, Alpha Centauri, Arcturus: classes B, A, A, G, K, hottest first.
Rigel to Betelgeuse: pale blue to orangeRigel, Sirius, Procyon, Alpha Centauri, Aldebaran, Betelgeuse: classes B, A, F, G, K, M, hottest first.
Spica to Pollux: pale blue to peachSpica, Deneb, Polaris, Sun, Pollux: classes B, A, F, G, K, hottest first.
Star classes B to M: azure to scarletAzure B stars, pale blue A stars, white F stars, lemon G stars, orange K stars, scarlet M stars.
Star classes, pale: pale blue to orangeClasses B, A, F, G, K and M in pale tints, nearer to what the eye sees, hottest first.
Sun to Gacrux: warm white to orangeSun, Pollux, Aldebaran, Mirach, Gacrux: classes G, K, K, M, M, hottest first.
Vega to the Sun: blue-white to warm whiteVega, Fomalhaut, Altair, Procyon, Sun: classes A, A, A, F, G, hottest first.
Galaxies and the Milky Way 10
Barred spiral: cobalt and wheatBlack space, cobalt arms, wheat bar, ivory core, cocoa dust.
Dwarf galaxy: pale blue on deep indigoDeep indigo space, steel blue haze, pale blue cloud, white stars, orchid glow.
Edge-on disk: tan on ink blueInk blue space, dark brown dust lane, tan disk, cream glow, dusty blue halo.
Far cluster: amber and azureSoft black space, plum blur, amber old galaxies, azure blue arcs, pale lilac glow.
Galaxy pair: amethyst and apricotBlack space, indigo tail, amethyst arms, apricot cores, pale cyan sparks.
Golden core: gold on soft blackSoft black space, brown halo, gold bulge, pale yellow core, rust dust.
Hazy white band: silver on midnight blueBlack sky, midnight blue deep sky, walnut dust lane, silver band, white bright band.
Milky Way star clouds: lavender on navyNavy sky, charcoal dust, slate blue band, lavender star clouds, pale peach bright patch.
Ring galaxy: royal blue and butterBlue-black space, royal blue ring, hot pink knots, butter core, slate gray haze.
Spiral arms: sky blue and pale goldBlack space, deep blue arm shadow, sky blue arms, pale gold core, pink star knots.
Space-age 10
Antenna robot: turquoise and redTurquoise body, red chest, yellow dials, silver joints, navy base.
Chrome saucer: silver on deep tealDeep teal sky, silver hull, steel gray shadow, lemon lights, pale mint beam.
Control panel: teal on charcoalCharcoal panel, cream dial, scarlet switch, bright green lamp, teal screen.
Countdown: tangerine on sky blueSky blue sky, rust tower, white rocket, pale gray smoke, tangerine flame.
Crater camp: orange on pale grayBlack sky, pale gray dust, white dome, orange stripe, aqua glass.
Helmet: gold on whiteWhite shell, gold visor, silver ring, red stripe, slate gray shadow.
Orbit poster: burnt orange and tealCream paper, burnt orange planet, teal orbit, brick red rocket, mustard stars.
Rocket red: scarlet on midnight blueMidnight blue sky, scarlet rocket, silver fins, amber flame, pale cyan window.
Satellite: gold and cobaltInk blue space, gold body, cobalt panels, silver dish, pale yellow signal.
Star map: ivory on navyNavy paper, steel blue lines, ivory stars, brass compass, coral title.
How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-01: palettes of five or six colors for a picture of space, each color named for the part it paints. Every palette, color word, hex code and part is our own choice. Nebula and galaxy palettes are inspired by published pictures, which are often in false color (Wikipedia, False color, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_color: false color is used for space telescope and space probe images), so they are a painter's colors and not what the eye would see. Facts checked on 2026-10-01 and again on 2026-10-02 against Wikipedia. Stellar classification (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_classification): the classes O, B, A, F, G, K and M run from the hottest to the coolest; O and B stars are blue, A stars white or bluish-white, F stars white, the Sun is class G, K stars are orangish and M stars red, and the colors the eye sees are far lighter than those words suggest. Strips of named stars and of star classes run hottest first; each star's class is from List of brightest stars (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_brightest_stars) and is stored with the palette, and the tints are ours, blended between eleven fixed points from class O9 to class M5; a star swatch is named for its tint as it looks on the strip (blue, pale blue, blue-white, white, warm white, peach, orange), not by the conventional color word of its class. Albireo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albireo): a double star, one amber and one blue-green in a telescope. Pleiades (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades): a cluster dominated by hot blue stars, with dust that reflects their blue light. Planets, each from its own article: Mercury's surface is similar in appearance to the Moon's; Venus is a white point of light to the naked eye under highly reflective clouds, and its sky at the surface is orange-yellow, fading to white higher up; most of Earth's surface is ocean, with cloud over most of the planet, vegetation, deserts and ice; Mars looks red-orange from iron oxide and can look like butterscotch, golden, brown or tan, with polar ice caps and a tawny sky; Jupiter has lighter zones and darker belts in orange and brown and the Great Red Spot; Saturn has a pale yellow hue and rings mostly of water ice; Uranus is pale cyan; Neptune is faintly blue, only slightly stronger than Uranus. Milky Way (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way): a hazy band of white light in the night sky. The space-age group is a look, not a record of any craft. Color names are plain English words and, outside the blended star strips, one word is one code everywhere on the list. Checked on 2026-10-02: every code is #RRGGBB, no palette and no name repeats, each color word fits the hue and lightness of its code, every strip of named stars runs from the hotter class to the cooler with neighbors 5 or more apart in CIE Lab, no two palettes share four colors outside the stars, and no palette is on another palette list of this site or of its sister sites. The hex codes are for a screen; with paint or pencils, take the nearest color. Licence: own work
How it works
A space colors palette here is five or six colors for one picture of space, each named for the part it paints: the sky, the cloud, the glow, the stars. Each comes with its hex codes.
Read the full guide
Pick a part of space
A menu under the button keeps to one group: nebulas, deep space, planets, stars, galaxies and the Milky Way, or a space-age look in rocket red, silver and teal. For a scene to paint, see space drawing ideas.
What is true to life
Planet palettes follow published descriptions of how each planet looks. A star color palette here mostly runs from the hottest star to the coolest, in pale tints. Nebula and galaxy palettes are inspired by published pictures, which are often in false color.
Questions and answers
What colors are in a space color scheme?
In the deep space group, mostly darks: black, blue-black, navy, deep indigo and deep violet, with one light. Nebula and galaxy palettes start from a dark sky and add crimson, rose, turquoise and gold; planet palettes hold rust, cream, pale gold and pale cyan.
What makes a space colour palette look deep?
On this list, a near-black for the void, dark blues or violets over it, and a single small light. Each palette of the deep space group is built that way: its line names the void and the depth first and the one light last.
What color are stars?
From hottest to coolest: blue, blue-white, white, yellow, orange and red. To the eye the colors are far paler than those words suggest, so most star strips here are pale tints.
What color are the planets?
Mercury looks much like the Moon, Venus is a white point of light, Earth is mostly ocean and cloud, Mars is red-orange, Jupiter has orange and brown bands, Saturn is pale yellow, Uranus is pale cyan and Neptune is faintly blue.