Origins Hubble a view to the edge of space  
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What does raw data look like?

The HST doesn't take photographs exactly like a normal camera. The HST instruments take data which follows a complex path until it reaches the scientist. Data from the HST instruments follow a complex path, part of which is the pipeline , after which they are made available to the scientists. At this stage, the data are calibrated and put into a form useable by the scientists' analysis software.

Data from the cameras consist of numbers whose value represents brightness measured by each detector in the camera. Raw data can contain a wider range of values than can be represented on a display or print. To view the region of interest, software may be used to change the contrast and brightness, much like the controls on a TV.

Raw data image 1
Raw data image 1
raw data image 2
Raw data image 2
raw data image 3
Raw data image 3

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