{"id":119679,"date":"2024-10-29T12:38:48","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T05:38:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=119679"},"modified":"2024-10-29T12:38:48","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T05:38:48","slug":"once-you-notice-this-weird-thing-about-james-webb-space-telescope-images-you-wont-be-able-to-unsee-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=119679","title":{"rendered":"Once You Notice This Weird Thing About James Webb Space Telescope Images, You Won&#8217;t Be Able to Unsee It"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<h2 class=\"block pb-1 text-3xl leading-none uppercase border-b lg:hidden xs:text-4xl font-k lg:text-5 border-red\">Weird, but cool.<\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"font-k text-4 font-black  lg:border-b border-gray-900 pb-1\">Pointy Perfection<\/h2>\n<p>Ever notice something about those images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope \u2014 other than the fact that they look <a href=\"https:\/\/futurism.com\/the-byte\/james-webb-telescope-inside-out-galaxy\" class=\"underline hover:text-the-byte hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out\" style=\"text-decoration-color:#ff0033\">absolutely incredible<\/a>, that is?<\/p>\n<p>If they felt somehow different from other deep space snapshots, you&#8217;re not wrong. Like a good movie director, the James Webb knows how to make its stars look spectacular on camera \u2014 and it does so with a signature visual trademark: extra diffraction spikes.<\/p>\n<p>To see what we&#8217;re talking about, check out this <a href=\"https:\/\/esawebb.org\/images\/comparisons\/weic2216\/\" class=\"underline hover:text-the-byte hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out\" style=\"text-decoration-color:#ff0033\">side-by-side comparison<\/a> of images of the iconic <a href=\"https:\/\/futurism.com\/the-byte\/james-webb-pillars-of-creation\" class=\"underline hover:text-the-byte hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out\" style=\"text-decoration-color:#ff0033\">Pillars of Creation<\/a>, one taken by the Webb and the other by the Hubble Space Telescope (which is still going strong, <a href=\"https:\/\/futurism.com\/the-byte\/jupiter-giant-red-spot-weird\" class=\"underline hover:text-the-byte hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out\" style=\"text-decoration-color:#ff0033\">by the way<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>With the Webb image, every star is adorned with eight spikes surrounding its center; six of them large, and two barely visible. The Hubble, meanwhile, only shows four. So what&#8217;s the deal?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-k text-4 font-black  lg:border-b border-gray-900 pb-1\">Bounce Back<\/h2>\n<p>These diffraction spikes don&#8217;t represent what stars actually look like, but are a visual artifact arising from the telescopes&#8217; internal construction.<\/p>\n<p>Diffraction is a term that describes what happens when waves of light pass by the edge of an object, causing them to bend. In reflecting telescopes like the Webb and Hubble, which feature a secondary mirror suspended in front of the primary one \u2014 as seen in <a href=\"https:\/\/webbtelescope.org\/contents\/media\/images\/01G529MX46J7AFK61GAMSHKSSN?Category=05-stars\" class=\"underline hover:text-the-byte hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out\" style=\"text-decoration-color:#ff0033\">this handy NASA infographic<\/a> \u2014 you tend to get a lot of it.<\/p>\n<p>Some diffraction is caused by light bouncing off the main mirror, which on the Webb comprises over a dozen sections. But its most noticeable effects are produced as it hits the secondary one, which is held in place by several struts.<\/p>\n<p>When the light is diffracted again by the struts, some of the waves will overlap in certain regions, either canceling out or getting amplified in luminosity. The spikes are a case of the latter, and their pattern depends on both the shape of the primary mirror, and the arrangement of the struts.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-k text-4 font-black  lg:border-b border-gray-900 pb-1\">Eight of Hand<\/h2>\n<p>Now let&#8217;s get to why there&#8217;s eight spikes in particular. The James Webb has three struts on its secondary mirror, producing six, smaller spikes.<\/p>\n<p>By design, four of these overlap with the six, much larger spikes produced by the main mirror&#8217;s hexagonal pattern. That leaves just two of the secondary spikes visible, for a total of eight that we can actually see.<\/p>\n<p>You only tend to see these diffraction spikes with very bright stars. The light of larger objects that are also shiny \u2014 a bright nebula, for example \u2014 isn&#8217;t concentrated enough to produce this effect.<\/p>\n<p>While they look cool, diffraction spikes aren&#8217;t necessarily desirable, since they can blot out other objects. For now, scientists will have to live with them. But future telescopes, like the planned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/startswithabang\/2018\/02\/28\/worlds-largest-telescope-to-finally-see-stars-without-artificial-spikes\/\" class=\"underline hover:text-the-byte hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out\" style=\"text-decoration-color:#ff0033\">Giant Magellan Telescope<\/a> in Chile, could have no spikes at all due to its advanced configuration that will ensure that no light is blocked by support struts.<strong><br \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>More on space telescopes: <\/strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/futurism.com\/the-byte\/james-webb-alien-steam-world\" class=\"underline hover:text-the-byte hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out\" style=\"text-decoration-color:#ff0033\">James Webb Spots First-Ever Alien &#8220;Steam World&#8221;<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/futurism.com\/the-byte\/james-webb-images-diffraction-spikes\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Weird, but cool. Pointy Perfection Ever notice something about those images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope \u2014 other than the fact that they look absolutely incredible, that is? &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=119679\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8628],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=119679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119679\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=119679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=119679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=119679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}