![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/cartwheel-galaxy-jwst.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a>The <\/em>Cartwheel Galaxy<\/strong> via JWST<\/strong><\/a>. Source NASA\/ESA\/CSA\/STSci<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n But we know that JWST<\/strong><\/em> is mostly sensitive in the infrared range, which means these images are false in the sense that our eyes wouldn’t see this. Scientists or algorithms select which visible color is mapped to by a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to which we’re not sensitive.<\/p>\n And what if our understanding of JWST’s<\/strong><\/em> instrumentation is defective? Here’s an article<\/a> from NewScientist<\/strong><\/em> (20 August 2022, paywall) on that subject:<\/p>\n When JWST\u00a0sends data back to Earth<\/a>, it doesn\u2019t come as complete images. Astronomers have to process it to make it usable, which requires understanding the sensitivity of the telescope\u2019s scientific instruments. As JWST takes more data, we gain a better understanding of that sensitivity. But new information on the performance of an infrared camera caused the telescope\u2019s operators to update its data-processing algorithms in July \u2013 well after the first images were released \u2013 and this threw some astronomers into a tizzy.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the first images came out, it was a bit of an \u2018astronomers at Christmas\u2019 scenario with everyone diving in to see what they could find,\u201d said\u00a0Nathan Adams<\/a> at the University of Manchester, UK, in a statement. \u201cWhat I think flew under the radar of a lot of astronomers was a part of that report mentions that NIRCam (one of the main cameras on the telescope) was overperforming in its reddest wavelengths.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This isn’t nearly as easy as I thought it might be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Just like everyone else, I stare with wonder… But we know that JWST is mostly sensitive in the infrared range, which means these images are false in the sense that our eyes wouldn’t see this. Scientists or algorithms select which visible color is mapped to by a portion of the \u2026 Continue reading