Weber infrared telescope released the first batch of panchromatic images. What did it capture? What's the effect? Why is it colored?

The first batch of infrared panchromatic high-definition astronomical photos of Weber Space Telescope were released as scheduled! The subjects covered a wide range of images of deep-space celestial bodies, such as galaxy clusters, deep space, planetary nebulae and star-forming regions. Let's introduce them one by one.

SMACS 0723 galaxy cluster-deep open space (4.6 billion light years)

The first release is SMACS 0723 galaxy cluster-Deep Open Field, which was shot by near infrared camera (NIRCam) in different bands (which makes me wonder if the mid-infrared camera is not working yet). The central area of the picture is a "relatively close" distant galaxy cluster, which is about 4.6 billion light years away from us, which means that the solar system was just formed when Weber took these rays. ...

More than a dozen slender bright arcs can be seen around the cluster of galaxies, which are about concentric circles around the central cluster of galaxies. That's the distortion caused by the huge gravity deflection of SMACS 0723 galaxy cluster, which is farther away than the galaxy cluster and similar to what is seen in a magnifying glass. This is the gravitational lens effect predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity.

It is said that thousands of distant galaxies have been photographed in this photo, some of which can only be seen in the infrared band. In order to give you an intuitive understanding of the power of the Webb Space Telescope, I specially found the dim photos of the same area taken by the Hubble Space Telescope before and made a comparison. Do you feel that the human Hubble, once the strongest, has become a slag?

Southern Ring Nebula, numbered NGC 3 132(2500 light years).

At the press conference that night, a planetary nebula named NGC 3 132, which is located 2500 light years away, was released for the first time. SMACS 0723 released in the morning was shot with a near-infrared camera, and surprisingly, the photos released in the evening ended with a mid-infrared camera! On the left side of figure 1, the near infrared camera (NIRCam) took pictures, while on the right side, a piece like lunch meat was taken by the mid infrared camera (MIRI).

The Southern Ring Nebula in Vela is a binary star system. The brighter one is a young star, and the darker one is next to it. The surrounding nebula gas is ejected by this dark old star. The details of the near-infrared camera are quite rich, and the details of the mid-infrared camera are less, but the quality is still much higher than the photos taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

As a contrast, I specially found photos of the same area taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Please feel @ _ @ …

Stephen quintuple galaxy, number HCG 92 (40 million light years)

The second is the Stephen Quintet galaxy in Pegasus, also known as the Stephen Quintet. This is a quintuple galaxy, consisting of a compact cluster of galaxies and a relatively isolated galaxy, among which the relatively isolated spiral galaxy numbered NGC 7320 on the left is 40 million light years away. The other four gravitationally interacting nearby galaxies are NGC 73 17, NGC 73 18A, NGC 73 18B and NGC 73 19, which are about 290 million light years away. The center of NGC 73 19 galaxy is a quasar with a supermassive black hole 24 million times the mass of the sun.

In international practice, the Hubble Space Telescope is compared with the regional high-definition map without code:

You may think that Hubble's photos are also clear and rich in details, but if you pay attention to the stars and galaxies in the background, the gap will come out.

Part of the Carina Nebula, numbered NGC 3324(7600 light years).

The last one is the most beautiful! ! ! I think so ... This is part of the Carina Nebula (NGC 3372), which is 7600 light years away and numbered NGC 3324. This is the cradle of stars. A large number of stars are born in gas clouds, surrounded by thick dust gas. Using near-infrared camera (NIRCam) and mid-infrared camera (MIRI), we can shoot new bright stars in the nebula through dense fog!

This photo is so beautiful that it is unbelievable ... how can it be so beautiful? I have not hesitated to set it as a computer wallpaper (_). As usual, let's take a look at Hubble's photos:

There is no doubt that this gap is not generally large. ...

Why can infrared cameras shoot color images?

Some people may wonder, isn't color unique to visible light? How to take color photos with infrared rays? Is it forged?

This starts with why we can feel color. Human vision is the electrical signal generated by the cone cells and rod cells of retina receiving different wavelengths of light stimulation, in which rod cells cannot distinguish colors, and the stimulation of cone cells is processed into different colors by the brain. Ordinary people have three kinds of cone cells, which are sensitive to three different wavelengths of 564-580 nm, 534-545 nm and 420-440 nm, respectively, corresponding to three colors of red, green and blue.

Simply put, color comes from different wavelengths, so for people's vision, no matter what band of photographic equipment is used, as long as three or more wavelengths are used to shoot, the images shot at these three or more different wavelengths are given different colors respectively, and then the used images are synthesized together, so that a full-color image can be obtained, as you can see earlier.

I am a wandering Chineydy. Please pay attention to me and share more interesting scientific knowledge with you.

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