How Images are Composed from Astronomical Data | James Webb Space Telescope

How Images are Composed from Astronomical Data | James Webb Space Telescope

Want to know how the James Webb Space Telescope’s observations are transformed from black-and-white data into full-color images? Follow along as Joe DePasquale and Alyssa Pagan, science visuals developers at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, explain how they process the telescope’s images from start to finish.

Joe shares what happens before the data are downloaded (hint: a lot!) and why its raw images appear almost black. He goes on to explain how stretching and compression are techniques they use to reveal the bulk of what Webb captured.

Alyssa shares how they assign color and compose Webb’s final images to emphasize scientifically valuable details. She also explains how infrared light is different than visible light, and how she and Joe compose the final full-color images.

Video Credits:

Producer: NASA, European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI)

Video: Greg Bacon (STScI), Jackie Barrientes (STScI), Claire Blome (STScI), Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Quyen Hart (STScI), Leah Hustak , Joyce Kang (STScI), Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI), Kelly Lepo (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Yessi Perez (STScI)

Acknowledgment: Macarena Garcia Marin (ESA), Christine Klicka Warfield (STScI)

Illustration: NASA, STScI

Duration: 6 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 7, 2023

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