Week 9 / Assignment 11: Basic Elements - Tone and Color

Space Nebulae  

        Above is a recent re-take of a famous photo taken by the Hubble Telescope known as "The Pillars of Creation." The original (right), was taken back in 1995. It displays interstellar gas and dust in the process of creating new stars. The original photo was taken by Hubble using four cameras to compile 32 separate images to get the famous image you see here. The retake was taken in 2011 at the Herschel Space Observatory by capturing far-infrared wavelengths, which allowed use of greater detail. Because the way these images were compiled, it allows for good explanation on why color and tone play an important role.

How Tone is Operating: 

To capture these photos, the light must enter the camera, but unlike on earth where we can see the majority of things just through just the visible light spectrum, space encompasses the entire spectrum. Through the human eye, space may appear as a giant gas cloud, or even invisible because our eyes are not developed to see ultra-violet or infrared light. Because unique cameras are used to capture those invisible lights, it helps give shape and form to various gas clouds. Lines and edges are established and helps us understand the hierarchy of gasses and particles in space and in nebulae. 

How Tone is Interacting with Color:

As with the case with most space photos, tone and color work together to create beautiful pictures that can be easily interpreted by scientists and observers alike. Tone sets up the edges so you can determine the various shapes the clouds and nebulae make up, while color helps you easily differentiate different gasses at work. Together, both tone and color, help create an image that allow for aesthetically pleasing pictures and allow for easier understanding of the complex, mysterious universe outside of Earth. 

How Color is Operating:

The original photograph was made with light emitted by different elements in the cloud and appears as a different color in the composite image: green for hydrogen, red for singly ionized sulfur and blue for double-ionized oxygen atoms. Because different cameras were used to capture the basic color elements of RGB, you are able to see different gasses and can identify them from one another. Space is composed of the entire electromagnetic spectrum, and for us to visually understand them, differentiation is needed.

How Color is interacting with Tone:

Tone provides dimension and depth to the photo while color provides detail and information. The two work together to help you recognize different gasses and dust from one another, and realize the depth of the picture. With the newer image captured by the Herschel Space Observatory, since far-infrared was used, scientists were able to see inside the pillars and discover the forces at work within the pillars.