Dead stars, rainbows and skin

If you're a frequent visitor of Pas-Sosyal, you've probably noticed I have not been very active this month. It's because lately, I have been playing around with images of stars for reasons partly therapeutic and philosophical. Here's the very first one I've done. 

Thank you, openFITS, for this new hobby!

To make such colored images, three X-ray images each with varying ranges of energy are layered and colored. X-rays cannot be seen by our eyes, just like UV, microwaves and infrared, so a special telescope in space is used to make the X-ray images. Light can take on many forms and can be pretty and destructive at the same time. 

The spectrum of light
(from OpenFITS)

Let's consider the effect of all parts of the light spectrum on our skin.

Higher energy rays are damaging and potential health hazards. Thankfully, our atmosphere is thick enough to prevent X-rays and gamma rays from hitting us. Next, because UV is only partly screened by the ozone layer it can cause early aging of the skin, pigmentation, or even cancer. No worries though, adequate sun protection and knowing when to stay out of the sun can significantly reduce these risks. 

Radio frequency and microwaves are safe, unless of course you are clumsy and you've just spilled that microwaved water on you. So far, studies on the effects of the visible spectrum of light and infrared ranges on skin is quite limited, although some studies (like this and this) suggest that IR and visible light can lead to premature photoaging of the skin. The catch? 

We are not protected against IR and rainbows yet. Sunscreen can only provide minimal protection from this portion of the spectrum but according to this study, coupling a photostable sunscreen with antioxidants reduced the damage on the skin from in vitro testing.  

Author's note: I go with the general advice of staying indoors from 10 AM to 2 PM, and diligent sunscreen and Vitamin C use. This article got me thinking about astronauts and their suits... do their space suits have some sort of shielding against the high frequency waves in the spectrum? :o