3 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: Ask Anything Wednesday - Physics, Astronomy, Earth and Planetary Science
Every digital image is just a "numerical data file", whether it comes from JWST or your phone camera. It's true that astronomical images use a different file format (FITS rather than e.g. PNG or JPEG) but there are plenty of programs that know how to read them.
Comment by Crazy_questioner at 16/09/2023 at 02:44 UTC
1 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Sure, but do you think those programs are easy to use for a beginner? Also we're ignoring that most of that data is outside the visible spectrum so the image isn't viewable without the false coloring, which is what OP wanted.