Like athletes push the limits of speed, strength, and skill, scientists push the boundaries of what we can detect and understand about our Universe.
One of the biggest challenges? Turning the invisible into something we can see. Telescopes on Earth and in space are built to capture all kinds of light — not just the visible light we see with human eyes, but also radio, infrared, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma ray light. Each type of light reveals something different about the cosmos, like unique events in a cosmic competition.
When telescopes detect such light, they send the data back to Earth using a global relay of antennas. This information arrives in binary code — a string of 1s and 0s — kind of like the digital stats of a sporting event. Scientists then decode this data to figure out when a particle of light arrived, how energetic it was, and where it came from in the sky.
From there, scientists create images using this data — not just for beauty, but for analysis. The colors are carefully chosen to represent different kinds of light or energy, turning raw space data into a visual story we can explore and understand.
In this Astrolympics activity series from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, you’ll get to train on some of the steps scientists use to turn invisible data into powerful images — and stretch your brain muscles along the way. Get ready to color the Universe, decode the data, and go for gold in astronomical understanding!
How to Talk to a Spacecraft: Binary Code
Pixel Battleship: Color the Universe
Coloring Page: Supernova Cassiopeia A
Light Up Black Holes: Paper Circuits
