Cassiopeia A.

Data visualisers are producing astonishing images by turning black and white space photos into bright, rich multicoloured Images. Visualisers first start off with various black and white images like the one above of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A took from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, a Space Telescope launched in 1999. A number of images are then took at different wavelengths captured by the Spitzer Space Telescope and  Hubble Space Telescope allowing visualisers to create brighter and more detailed images. Infrared data captured by the Spitzer Telescope helps to tone the image whilst data captured from the Hubble Telescope produces more detailed images. Colour is then added to different wavelengths, red usually used to show light emitting lower amounts of energy while the colour blue is used frequently to show light producing high amounts of energy. Different colours are blended together with the final result leaving us with photos just like the one shown above. The colours in the image helps us to understand what exactly is happening within the remnant. Yellow is starlight from the dying star, red shows carbon dust clouds, the blue outline surrounding the nebula is X-ray data showing us the edge of the shock wave from the original supernova blast and the colour green is gas erupting out of the star reaching multimillion degree temperatures.