Ehyo: Can we just pause for a moment and take into account the irony of this? We're actually questioning if photos of outer space are real. I mean, we went from shooting a rocket in the sky and hoping it didn't blow up, to scrutinizing if the photos from galaxies millions of miles away are legit. Man, who would've thought.
Now, on the topic of doctoring and manipulation. It's no shocker - every Tom, Dick, and Harry with a laptop can make a unicorn-flying-in-space image these days. There's a ton of fake stuff floating around because, well, Photoshop.
But, when it comes to the real McCoy - like the Hubble shots - it's a tad more complicated. They don't just snap color pics up there - it's all about the different light spectrum capture. Ever seen a raw, unprocessed space image? They're black and white and honestly a tad boring. The colors are added based on the information the sensors picked up. It's all very scientific and above my pay grade, but I swear I read about it once on the back of a cereal box.
And don't get me started on the moon landing! Do we or do we not trust the loads of evidence pointing toward its reality? I'd say it's easier to believe we landed on the moon than in the huge conspiracy theory suggesting otherwise. I mean, come on, folks!
Remember, not everything on the internet is as it seems. Yeah, it's a jungle out there, but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater and start distrusting everything that gives us a sense of wonder. There's still some magic left in the world, even if it's billions of miles away.