Infrared: More Than Your Eyes Can See

Dr. Michelle Thaller explains infrared light in this older video, produced by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (then known as the Space Infrared Telescope Facility) before it launched.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• NASA
• infrared
• light
• zoo
• animals
• space
• astronomy
• electromagnetism
• EM
• Spectrum
• physical
• science

[thelegendarypaki]

So if I can see through objects, can I see through your clothes as well? Just curious...How about ir vs night vision, why do night vision cameras show green pictures instead of red and yellowish?

[SpitzerJim]

Different materials go transparent at different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. With x-rays, seeing through clothing is no problem at all. Most common clothing materials, however, are still opaque at the wavelengths typically used for night-vision. Remember that what you're seeing is heat, and most clothing insulates, so the infrared light isn't coming through it.

[mksglt]

you are saying that we through the night vision camera the heat released by our body which looks red but in some night vision camera it looks green how is it possible?

[SpitzerJim]

Since any infrared camera is translating colors we can't see into colors we can see, it can represent those colors however the camera's manufacturer's see fit.

[muxammle]

i dont get get it !!! the wmap of big bang is 13.73 billion light years away so that means the point of big bang is 13.73b light years away from our earth and the oldest star in our galaxy is 13.4b light years !!! so the distance of 13.73b light years is covered in 0.33b light years !! am i right ! ? ! ? ! ?

[SpitzerJim]

Remember, there wasn't any one "place" where the big bang happened. It happened everywhere. Every point in the Universe was inside the big bang when it happened.

But, yes, the Universe is probably expanding at faster than the speed of light. It can do that because the speed of light is only the speed limit inside the Universe, not in the higher dimension the Universe is expanding into.

Yes, I know that's hopelessly complicated. I hope it makes some sense.

[rathat48]

2 kinds of night vision with infrared, the more common night vision thats green or gray works by filtering out IR and then changing it to a visible pattern, the ir light comes from a built in light or an ir source like the moon this is reflected ir. the one in the video works by showing the infrared emitted from objects, because everything emits light, things slightly above room temp like people emit infra red light. when you heat up metal it wil glow because the temp was raised to emit visable

[mksglt]

how can we see a cooler object through an infrared camera in the space like a planet orbiting a white dwarf ?

[muxammle]

thnx !!! just wanted to know that !! its awesome !

thnx alot

[VioletMink]

Thank you SO MUCH for this.

I can watch it over and over again...and I have.