'Ghosts' hover over NASA telescopes

The photo taken by a NASA photographer impressed many people with ghost-like white shadows above the James Webb telescope.

The US Aerospace Agency (NASA) recently released a picture of James Webb telescope in a special sterilization room. What caught everyone's attention was that white shadows like "ghosts" were floating above the glass, Live Science reported on March 15.

Chris Gunn, NASA photographer, explains that these "ghosts" are actually scientists wearing white protective clothing working around the telescope. Because the photo was taken in the dark, long exposure, the image of the scientists looked exactly like white ghosts.

"Phantom" above the James Webb telescope.(Photo: Chris Gunn).

When shooting long exposures, the camera's shutter is left open for a long time, providing enough time for some of the light particles also known as photons in the dark to hit the sensor or photo paper, creating an image of the object. As a result, moving objects seem to fade, because bright light particles reflect from objects coming from different positions while the shutter is open, while the still object remains as clear as in the photo.

The dark image was taken in the sterilization room after the glass underwent sound and vibration testing. Searching for stains after the test takes place more easily in the dark, so the technician finds stains with ultraviolet light and carries a flashlight during the test. The experiment took place at the Spacecraft System Development and Integration Facility (SSDIF) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

James Webb, the next version of the Hubble Space Telescope, is the largest and most powerful telescope ever built. According to NASA, the glass will be launched in French Guiana territory in 2018. Unlike the Hubble glass orbiting the Earth's orbit, James Webb will revolve around the Sun at the Lagrange point of 2 (L2) 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. . At this point, the observatory can move parallel to the Earth. A large sunscreen protects the telescope from light and radiates heat from the Sun.