Rebecca Sohn is a freelance science writer. She writes about a variety of science, health and environmental topics, and is particularly interested in how science impacts people's lives. She has been an intern at CalMatters and STAT, as well as a science fellow at Mashable.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a tightly bound pair of actively forming stars, known as Herbig-Haro 46/47, in high-resolution near-infrared light. Look for them at the center of the red diffraction spikes, appearing as an orange-white splotch. is known for capturing our universe with unprecedented precision and sensitivity. Its images aren't only scientifically useful but also beautiful.
So how are the colors for these spectacular images chosen, then? JWST targets are viewed through several filters attached to the telescope, which"see" in a certain range of wavelengths of infrared light. JWST's Near Infrared Camera, the telescope's main camera, has six filters, all of which capture slightly different images.
Once each color has been added to the image, it might go through some additional alterations. Sometimes, the original colors can make an image look faded or dusty, and the colors are made more vivid to give it a sharper quality. The colors might also be shifted to emphasize certain hard-to-spot features.
The colors in JWST's images may not be"real," but don't get the wrong idea — the colors aren't meant to trick you, and they aren't chosen only to look good. The images are intended to communicate as clearly as possible what JWST can see — and what our eyes can't.
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