How do we know if images from space are real or an artist's perception?
1 Answer
See explanation...
Explanation:
Nowadays it is becoming increasingly easier to create fake images using graphical editing software. Are we being conned?
What do we make of the images that are published?
For a start, note that a large number of the images we see from Hubble and other telescopes are 'false colour' images. They are often a combination of images from different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum artificially coloured to help pick out different components. The resulting images are striking, informative, often beautiful and magnificent, but sadly not exactly what you would see. They are also usually labelled as false colour images, with some kind of guide as to what colours represent what (e.g. red for hydrogen, etc).
Other published images are artist's impressions of red dwarf stars, etc. - hopefully labelled as such.
One thing I find amusing is to see old Hollywood portrayals of the Earth from space, prior to man actually venturing there. I don't think any of them showed a blue and white cloud covered globe. Perhaps that's one reassurance at least that the extreme outrageous claims of fakery that some people make are false.
In the end, it basically comes down to trust.
