{"id":53870,"date":"2024-01-16T09:22:42","date_gmt":"2024-01-16T09:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/d4ea913f-5ec0-4cf5-b8ec-991806826370"},"modified":"2024-01-16T10:33:53","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T10:33:53","slug":"are-the-james-webb-space-telescopes-images-real","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/are-the-james-webb-space-telescopes-images-real\/","title":{"rendered":"Are the James Webb Space Telescope’s images real?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With so much processing applied to the raw data from space, it\u2019s the question many will wonder about. <\/p>

By Joe DePasquale\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 16 January 2024 at 09:22 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Given the drama of the James Webb Space Telescope\u2019s images, it\u2019s only natural to question whether what we are seeing is real.<\/p>

I can answer most emphatically that everything you see in the images from Webb is 100% real!<\/p>

James Webb Space Telescope<\/a> sees the Universe in infrared<\/a> wavelengths, a kind of light that is beyond what our eyes are capable of perceiving.<\/p>

See the latest James Webb Space Telescope images<\/a> and read my guide Process your images like a James Webb Space Telescope scientist<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

A protostar begins to shine, James Webb Space Telescope, 16 November 2022Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI. Image processing: J. DePasquale, A. Pagan, and A. Koekemoer (STScI)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

As image processors, we take advantage of the way our eyes see colour to translate these infrared wavelengths into colours that our eyes can perceive.<\/p>

It\u2019s not unlike transposing music from one octave to another.<\/p>

The relative pitches between notes stay the same, but overall the music shifts to either higher or lower notes.<\/p>

This method of colourising the data \u2013 what we refer to as representative colour \u2013 gives us a powerful tool to explore the Universe in many wavelengths beyond visible light.<\/p>

\"Herbig-Haro
Herbig-Haro 46\/47,James Webb Space Telescope, 26 July 2023Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA. Image processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The meaning of colour in astro images<\/strong><\/h2>

As beautifully vibrant and detailed as images from Webb are, the colours are not arbitrarily chosen. They have real scientific value.<\/p>

The process of applying colour chromatically according to wavelength gives us more information in the final image than we would have from a single grayscale image.<\/p>

For example, in deep-field images littered with galaxies, colours play a vital role in giving us a visual cue to the most distant galaxies in an image.<\/p>

\"Credit:
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Orsola De Marco (Macquarie University), Joseph DePasquale (STScI)Southern Ring nebula in VelaJames Webb Space Telescope, 8 December 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The faintest red smudges are likely very distant galaxies formed within a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.<\/p>

Similarly, in images of nebulae within our Galaxy, colours clue us in to the different chemical processes taking place within the nebula.<\/p>

We can get a sense of the distribution of different elements within the nebula through the use of chromatically ordered colour.<\/p>

It\u2019s more than just a pretty picture!<\/p>

This article appeared in the November 2023 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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