To astronomers, the ability to observe across the entire electromagnetic spectrum is like the ability to look at a fine painting in all its colors. It is the only way to get the complete picture of what is happening in an object. We illustrate this point with van Gogh's "Starry Night."

red/brown +

yellow/green +

blue =

Similarly, here is the nearby Andromeda Galaxy

Radio +

Far Infrared +

Near Infrared +

Visible +

X-ray =

colors needed for a complete picture of what is going on in the galaxy. Pictures from Beck et all., MIPS team, 2MASS, APOD/J.Ware, ROSAT