How do we get such detailed pictures of planets and space?

Question

I know we get them through massive telescopes…. But how do they capture images so far away? How do they work?

In: 3

Answer 1

Don’t overestimate how detailed they are. They’re showing a lot of features, but those features are very, very large.

When you see swirls in the atmosphere of Jupiter, like on this page:
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/jupiter/in-depth/

Be sure to look at the size comparison: those details you’re looking at are the size of Earth. Something as small as, say, Alaska, you probably wouldn’t be able to see, because the pictures aren’t that detailed.