WEBVTT

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How do space telescopes
break down light?

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Remember the primary colors?

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Every other color
is some combination

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of the primary colors,
red, yellow, and blue.

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Light also has primary colors,
and they work in a similar way.

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TVs make use of light's colors
to create the pictures we see.

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Each pixel of the TV
screen contains some amount

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of red, green, and blue light.

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The amount of each light
determines the overall color

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of the pixel.

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So each color on the TV
comes from a combination

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of the primary colors of
light, red, green, and blue.

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Space Telescope images
of celestial objects

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are also a combination
of the colors of light.

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Every pixel that is
collected can be broken down

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into its base colors.

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To learn even more,
astronomers break

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the red, green, and blue light
down into even smaller sections

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called wavelengths.

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This breakdown is
called a spectrum.

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With the right technology,
every pixel of light

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can also be measured
as a spectrum.

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Images show us the big
picture, while spectra

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reveal finer details.

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Astronomers use spectra
to learn things,

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like what molecules are
in planet atmospheres,

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and distant galaxies.

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An integral field unit
or IFU is a special tool

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on the James Webb
Space Telescope

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that captures images and
spectra at the same time.

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The IFU creates
a unique spectrum

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for each pixel of the image
the telescope is capturing,

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providing scientists
with an enormous amount

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of valuable detailed data.

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So with an IFU, we can get
an image, many spectra,

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and a better understanding
of our universe.

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