Shaastra 2021 - Technology Behind the Scenes

Shaastra 2021 was a significant and memorable experience, featuring a wide range of competitions that celebrated science, technology, and creativity. One such event was "Technology Behind the Scenes." For this competition, I created a concept-driven illustration that was recognized as particularly strong—and the reason lies in the science behind it.

Space telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope do not capture images in color the way the human eye perceives them. Instead, they record data in monochrome (black-and-white) through specialized filters that isolate specific wavelengths of light. Each image represents the intensity of light at a particular wavelength, not color itself.

To create the stunning color images we commonly see, scientists apply false-color or representative-color techniques, assigning red, green, and blue values to different wavelength datasets. This process is based on physics, not artistic guesswork—it allows researchers to visualize information beyond the limits of human vision, including ultraviolet and infrared light. The final composite image is therefore not "what the telescope sees," but a scientifically encoded translation of raw data into a form our eyes and brains can understand.