Colouring what human eyes can’t see

Esahubble_potw2407a_1024

esahubble_potw2407a February 12th, 2024

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Fedriani, J. Tan

If the Hubble Picture of the Week from two weeks ago was somewhat dim and subtle in appearance, then this week’s image is a veritable riot of colour and activity! It features a relatively close-by star-forming region known as IRAS 16562-3959 that lies within the Milky Way in the constellation Scorpius, about 5900 light-years from Earth. This image was compiled using observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC 3). The detailed nuances of colour are possible because of the four separate filters that were used to collect the data. Filters are thin slivers of highly specialised material that only allow very specific wavelengths of light through. They can be slid in front of the part of the telescope that is sensitive to light, letting astronomers control which wavelengths of light the telescope collects with each observation. This is useful not only for specific scientific research, but also for the creation of images like this one. Raw telescope observations are always monochrome, regardless of which filter was used. However, specially trained artists and image specialists can select colours that match the wavelength range covered by individual filters. Or, in the case where a direct match is not possible — such as for the data used in this image, which are all in the infrared regime, which human eyes are not sensitive to —  the artist can select a colour that sensibly represents what is taking place. For example, they might assign bluer colours to shorter wavelengths and redder colours to longer wavelengths, as is the case in the visible light range. Then, data from multiple filters can be combined to build up a multi-colour image, that both looks beautiful and has scientific meaning. At the centre of the image, IRAS 16562-3959 is thought to host a massive star — about 30 times the mass of our Sun — that is still in the process of forming. At the near-infrared wavelengths to which Hubble is sensitive, the central region appears dark because there is so much obscuring dust in the way. However near-infrared light leaks out mainly on two sides — upper left and lower right — where a powerful jet from the massive protostar has cleared away the dust. Multi-wavelength images including this incredible Hubble scene will help us gain a better understanding of how the most massive, brightest stars in our galaxy are born. [Image Description: A nebula with stars. The centre of the image from top-left to bottom-right glows brightly with light from where new stars are being formed, and is partially covered by dark dust. Coloured layers of gas and dust billow out across the rest of the image. The nebula is speckled with foreground stars with large diffraction spikes.]

Provider: Hubble Space Telescope | ESA

Image Source: https://esahubble.org/images/potw2407a/

Curator: ESA/Hubble, Baltimore, MD, United States

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

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Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Esahubble_potw2407a_128
 

Position Details Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 16h 59m 40.8s
DEC = -40° 3’ 45.4”
Orientation
North is 49.5° CW
Field of View
2.1 x 2.2 arcminutes
Constellation
Scorpius

Color Mapping Details Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Hubble (WFC3) Infrared (YJ) 1.1 µm
Orange Hubble (WFC3) Infrared (H) 1.6 µm
Cyan Hubble (WFC3) Infrared (Paschen-Beta) 1.3 µm
Red Hubble (WFC3) Infrared (Fe II) 1.6 µm
Spectrum_base
Blue
Orange
Cyan
Red
Esahubble_potw2407a_1280
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ID
potw2407a
Subject Category
Subject Name
Credits
ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Fedriani, J. Tan
Release Date
2024-02-12T06:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://esahubble.org/images/potw2407a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
WFC3, WFC3, WFC3, WFC3
Color Assignment
Blue, Orange, Cyan, Red
Band
Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
YJ, H, Paschen-Beta, Fe II
Central Wavelength
1100, 1600, 1280 , 1640
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
None, None, None, None
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
254.92019869196048, -40.06261129970727
Reference Dimension
981.0, 1042.0
Reference Pixel
490.5, 521.0
Scale
-3.5637241846005134e-05, 3.5637241846005134e-05
Rotation
-49.460000000000043
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
ESA/Hubble
URL
https://esahubble.org
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
ESA Office, Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Dr
City
Baltimore
State/Province
MD
Postal Code
21218
Country
United States
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
ESA/Hubble
Publisher ID
esahubble
Resource ID
potw2407a
Metadata Date
2024-02-01T23:36:52+01:00
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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