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Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Crab nebula

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A striking photo of the Crab Nebula

A stunning and beautiful image of the Crab Nebula. Uploaded by Arpingstone, it and a smaller resolution version (Image:Crab.nebula.arp.750pix.jpg) are used in a variety of articles.

  • Question Are images of nebula colorized (they must be, right?). Do the colors correspond to anything in particular? ~MDD4696 (talkcontribs) 03:04, 15 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
    • Answer: Not necessarily "colorized". but they are not always in "natural" colors, either. Such images are taken, through a telescope, with three successive exposures, and each exposure is through a different colored filter. The exposures can be in visible light, but also ultraviolet and infrared. When these exposures are added together for the final picture, each one is given one of the primary colors, thus creating a full-color image. If the shots were not through visible light filters, the final colors are not "natural". Nowadays, this all is often done with CCD chips and computers. Also note that you cannot see much color if you look through a telescope, since the human eye is almost color-blind in very low light. --Janke | Talk 06:58, 16 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Not promoted Raven4x4x 04:14, 24 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]