I’m by no means a scientist (let’s be real—I’m far from it). But an introductory astronomy class in college did spark my curiosity, and raise some questions, about the marvels of the sprawling universe.

As I sat in a lecture hall five years ago, learning about everything from galaxies to dark matter, I was intrigued by how much we actually know about space. Shoot, it’s a whole cosmos beyond our planet that extends infinitely outward. My 19-year-old brain could hardly comprehend the gravity of that based on merely textbook readings and computer labs alone.

Well, even that college lab couldn’t have prepared me for learning about the amazing technology that’s made seeing space possible—one of the many subjects put into perspective by the brand-new Pop Mech Explains the Universe.

In this Pop Mech series aimed at (you guessed it) explaining what’s out there in the cosmos, Associate News Editor Jackie Appel basically blew my mind telling stories about the systems, detectors, and processes scientists use to make space visible to us on Earth.

Here’s a few of the fascinating innovations that, as Jackie explains, changed how we view—and how I think—about space forever.

Cosmos in Color

My college astronomy textbook was filled with alluring, detailed images of the universe that made it appear almost fantastical. Well, little did I know that those snapshots don’t come through in color—in fact, they’re nearly invisible at first.

In Pop Mech Explains the Universe, Jackie says that those photos come from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the largest infrared telescope in space, and experts actually use a seemingly simple beautification process to turn them into gorgeous finished products. The JWST captures many images to make up one finished photo, all taken with different filters to photograph certain molecules. One filter, for instance, may be used solely to snap a picture of the oxygen in that part of the universe.

Then, by coloring each image from the telescope based on wavelength (one concept I actually do remember from my schooling!), scientists put them all together to create one beautiful composite photo. Talk about made-for-textbook space images.

Learn more about the fascinating process behind those eye-catching images of deep space captured by the JWST.

Bringing the Black Hole to Life

One of my favorite units in astronomy was studying mysterious black holes. And for years, those objects were enigmas to scientists, too.

That’s because black holes are invisible—they don’t emit any light. But a huge telescopic project that launched in 2009 finally brought black holes to life for those of us on Earth.

Using a global network of smaller telescopes stretching from Hawaii to even Antarctica–a.k.a. the Event Horizon Telescope–Jackie breaks down how scientists were able to reach the angular resolution needed to observe and photograph a black hole. Years of processing later, and scientists unveiled the image to the world in 2019.

Watch this Pop Mech Explains the Universe episode for more on just how scientists pulled off the massive feat of photographing a black hole.

Catching Waves—Literally

I’ll be honest: Gravitational waves might as well be ocean waves in my book. So learning about what they are, and exactly how scientists observe them, was mind-blowing.

Gravitational waves, created by objects with mass moving through spacetime, stretch and compress space. Jackie says to think about it this way: Thanks to the compression effect of a gravitational wave, when one passes through, the actual amount of space between us and a far off star changes.

Well, that was a new revelation to me. I thought to myself: How can we even see those gravitational waves ripple through space? That’s where the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) comes into play, which uses miles-long L-shaped detectors to make reading those waves possible.

Jackie explains that a laser inside the tubes is split, bounces off mirrors, and goes straight back to sensors at the center of the ‘L’. When gravitational waves pass through these 2.5-mile-long detector arms, the lasers go out of sync. That’s a measurement of gravitational waves, the first of which LIGO observed in 2015.

But LIGO isn’t the only detector out there, I learned. More gravitational wave detectors have been built up around the world, including Virgo in Italy and the Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector (KAGRA) in Japan.

If you’re also now interested in gravitational waves, you’ll want to watch this episode for more on the technology that measures the ripples in spacetime.

If you’re fascinated by space tech like I am, you can learn even more about it—along with literally everything else you’d ever want to know about the universe, stars, planets, and plenty of other discoveries—in Pop Mech Explains the Universe. And join Pop Mech Pro today to unlock all comprehensive stories, videos, guides, and more to keep you up to date on all of the latest developments in our understanding of the world around us—and beyond.