NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is known for looking deep into the universe with an unprecedented level precision and sensitivity. But its images aren't only scientifically useful — they're also beautiful.
From the blues and golds of the breathtaking James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) images render the universe in brilliant color. The images the orbital observatory produces are often so stunning, you might find yourself asking: Do these cosmic objects really look that colorful? And what would these celestial wonders look like if we could view them with our unaided eyes, instead of on a screen?
As it turns out, scientists aren't exactly sure. "The quickest answer is, we don't know," said Alyssa Pagan, a science visuals developer at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and a member of the team that helps make JWST images so colorful. But despite the uncertainty, one thing is certain: Your own eyes wouldn't see the universe like this.
If you were somehow able to look directly at these objects with your own eyes, you might see something that resembles the images from telescopes that see the universe visual light, like the Hubble Space Telescope, Pagan said.
But even that comparison isn't quite right, since Hubble is much larger and more sensitive than the human eye, so it can take in much more light. Also, visual-light telescopes might capture different features of an object than an infrared telescope would, even when focused on the same target.
JWST is an infrared telescope, meaning it sees the universe in wavelengths of light that are longer than that of red light, which has the longest wavelength we can detect with our eyes.
How are colors chosen for JWST images?
So how exactly are the colors for the JWST's spectacular images chosen?