hubble photo's FTW!







http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/images/hs-2006-01-q-xlarge_web.jpg





http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/images/hs-2009-25-k-xlarge_web.jpg

http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/images/hs-2007-16-h-xlarge_web.jpg



http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/images/hs-2007-34-b-xlarge_web.jpg

Um, well, there's nothing saying it can't, except for art resources and stuff (not having any artists). Plus, I think some of those are false color, but even true color there's a lot of gorgeous stuff in the galaxy (the Orion Nebula, for instance). I'd like to see some more astronomically-correct views in the game, like a sector located in M3 would be a gorgeous view of the galaxy. But, yeah.. that takes resources I don't have at the moment.

http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/images/hs-1998-18-b-full_jpg.jpg

http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/images/hs-2002-11-e-large_web.jpg

http://www.hubblesite.org/gallery/behind_the_pictures/meaning_of_color/index.php this is some detail about the colors.

Most of the ones at the beginning are enhanced and would not actually look like that if one were close enough to see it with the naked eye.

must have missed the link.

http://www.hubblesite.org/gallery/behind_the_pictures/meaning_of_color/index.php

basically:

Hubble doesn't use color film — in fact, it doesn't use film at all. Rather, its cameras record light from the universe with special electronic detectors. These detectors produce images of the cosmos not in color, but in shades of black and white.

Finished color images are actually combinations of two or more black-and-white exposures to which color has been added during image processing.

Many full-color Hubble images are combinations of three separate exposures — one each taken in red, green, and blue light. When mixed together, these three colors of light can simulate almost any color of light that is visible to human eyes.

Hubble's many filters allow it to record images in a variety of wavelengths of light. Since the cameras can detect light outside the visible light spectrum, the use of filters allows scientists to study "invisible" features of objects — those only visible in ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths.

The example they give shows 2x UV, 1x green, 1x red, 3x infra red. the final color image is an overlaping of all filters.

color aside it would be good to see more life like type setups.

I think Whistler was just referring to false color, as I was.

Also, blacknet, you should read this thread.

Besides what blacknet said, the hubble recognizes gases as colors. i learned this on the universe lol. when we see green that means the hubble is relaying to us humans oxygen (or some kind of gas, not too sure on which one) so we can see it. when we see green it is hydrogen (or whatever) and so forth. if we were to actually be there, it wouldnt be so colorfully vibrant at all.

jesus f'ing christ moda talk about image spam

I saw the link to this article that showed these images yesterday. Although they are way cool Moda, a simple damn link to the main page would have been more appropriate.

Peytros is correct, image spam central.

VO looks like this when I play it. I think you need to smoke more right before you play :)

Uh it would have been nice if you put a warning in the header about the picture spam

meph: hubble doesn't "see" anything in particular, it has the option of filtering based on different emission spectra (certain gasses only emit in certain narrow bands of light). Some of the emission spectra is well outside of visible range, but astronomers still choose to "color" it, largely as a way of differentiating what they're seeing (it also makes it prettier). This is what False Color means (it isn't the colors actually present if a human were to see it directly).

However, there are plenty of things that hubble has shot in true color. Like this fantastic picture of the Orion Nebula, which is exactly as a human being would see it. Where as, here is the same nebula, shot through various emission filters.

Some nebula realistically need to be shot through filters, because the gasses that make them up tend to only emit in non-visible areas of the spectrum, or emit most of their light outside the visible range (making them much more dramatic when using that range).

One of these days I'll post some of my astrophotos. I don't have hubble, but it's fun to do.

yea, inc, that is pretty much what i was saying. and your second link is "forbidden", must be one of those developer only sites, lol. i just said it in layman terms i guess. i didnt say the hubble "sees" anything, i said "recognizes" so "we can see it".

but astronomers still choose to "color" it, largely as a way of differentiating what they're seeing (it also makes it prettier)

when we see green that means the hubble is relaying to us humans oxygen (or some kind of gas, not too sure on which one) so we can see it. when we see green it is hydrogen (or whatever) and so forth

i guess i should have said: the hubble was programmed to relay green...

emit most of their light outside the visible range (making them much more dramatic when using that range).

if we were to actually be there, it wouldnt be so colorfully vibrant at all.

but thank you for your attempt to make me feel inferior to the developer.

If you want to be precise, hubble itself doesn't recognize what is emitting in what part of specturm, nor does it assign colors.
It just takes a picture and relays that.
Figuring out it's say some gas emitting in that part of spectrum and assigning colors is what astronomers do later.
Which is what inc was trying to say i believe.

Uhh, meph, I wasn't trying to make you feel inferior at all, I'm sorry if it came off that way.

I was just trying to be informative.

As maq and others noted, hubble doesn't assign color data. Moreover, the CCDs output only B&W.

Astronomers take the grayscale luminance data and combine various separate narrowband images to see false-color pictures of nebula across broader spectra. But there is no "green" per se, except what's done later in astronomer-photoshop. The filters themselves may limit to narrow bands in what we consider "green", like this one, but the data output is all B&W. (technically, my example of a ~500nm OIII filter is more of a "cyan", as "green" is closer to 520-565nm)

Hahaha, "astronomer-photoshop". I like it.

It's a shame so many nebulae look better with false color.

Also, to
counter-
act the
wide
columns
forced
on us
by the
image
spam, I
think we
should
all type
like this.

Analog Color TVs do this as well.. just an FYI..

Only digital TVs actually -receive- color pictures, everything else is black n white.

Srsly.
No srsly.

I converted some of the larger images to links, plus a few others because I lost track of which were largest.

Sheesh, Inc., if you need skybox backgrounds, all you need to do is ask...

What resolutions, and what geometry is the skybox? I'll work up some nebulae and some pulsars next week!

(animated skybox backgrounds would kick ass BTW, but are they feasible?)