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Why NASA is betting on a 36-pixel camera

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is making strides in astronomy with its 122-megapixel primarily infrared photos taken 1.5 million kilometers away from

“We call Resolve a microcalorimeter spectrometer because each of its 36 pixels is measuring tiny amounts of heat delivered by each incoming X-ray, allowing us to see the chemical fingerprints of elements making up the sources in unprecedented detail.” Equipped with an extraordinary array of pixels, the Resolve instrument can detect “soft” X-rays, which possess an energy approximately 5,000 times greater than visible light wavelengths. For instance, it enables scientists to understand the flow of hot gas in galaxy clusters and to meticulously track the movement of various elements in the remnants of supernova explosions.

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