The expansion of the universe has a bending effect on light as it moves across space. For this reason, many distant objects are visible only in infrared light, which wavelength is far greater than that of the human eye.
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of NASA are intended to catch this ancient light, revealing some of the earliest galaxies to form in the cosmos.
Denying Hubble Images
However, despite technological breakthroughs, these images in space continue to inspire skepticism, and people are questioning the integrity of these stories.
After following NASA's telescope photographs for some time, we've seen an astounding number of people who refuse to believe scientific evidence.
Our previous articles featuring Hubble images of outer planets and part of the universe were swamped with comments from science deniers and skeptics on social media. People often assumed the pictures were manipulated or computer-generated; one even said they were "the nicest fake photos ever."
And it's Hubble images they're criticizing. The JWST must have caught them off guard.
The Planetary Society explained that JWST's bigger mirror would provide a picture with substantially greater resolution than Hubble's if both telescopes examine the same object at a wavelength of 0.7 microns (near-infrared).
So, yes, Webb's telescope provides better-quality images than Hubble.
Related Story: [LOOK] NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Captures Stunning Photo of Galaxy UGCA 193
How JWST Works
Based on an article by Scientific American, four scientific instruments form the heart of JWST and are responsible for data collection. And with these six data collection components, the Webb telescope can take stunning photographs from outer space.
Micro Shutter Array: Light spectra (split into its component wavelengths) from up to 100 places in a single frame may be measured by opening and closing a grid of 248,000 tiny doors.
Spectrographs: These use gratings or prisms to split incoming light into spectra, revealing the relative strengths of different wavelengths.
Cameras: Three cameras are installed on JWST, two of which are sensitive to light in the near-infrared region and one sensitive to light in the mid-infrared.
Integral Field Unit: It is a camera-spectrograph hybrid that records a picture along with spectra for each pixel, illuminating the light's variations throughout the field of view.
Coronagraphs: The fainter light from planets and debris disks circling these stars may be obscured by the glare of bright stars. A coronagraph is an opaque ring that blocks the bright starlight without compromising the weaker signals.
These components are distributed across four instruments.
- Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS)/Near-InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS)
- Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec)
- Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam)
- Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI)
Are these Space Pictures Real?
Alyssa Pagan, a scientific graphics developer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, argues JWST's photographs are real.
Is this what we'd see for real if we went there? The answer is no. This is because human eyes can't see infrared, and the telescope is more light-sensitive.
The telescope's improved vision provides us with a more accurate image of these cosmic objects than our eyes could. JWST can record photos in 27 infrared filters.
Scientists extract an image's most relevant dynamic range and scale brightness to reveal features.
The shortest wavelengths are blue, while longer wavelengths are green and red. After combining these, the last steps are the standard white balance, contrast, and color changes used by any photographer.
Read More: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Unveils New, Detailed Look of a Lonely Dwarf Galaxy
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Written by Trisha Kae Andrada
