New Photo from James Webb Space Telescope Sparks Mystery of a “Question Mark” in Space
SPACE (KXAN) – A new photo from the James Webb Space Telescope is leading to a giant question – or moreover one about a giant question mark.
The photo, released by the European Space Agency on July 26, has caught the attention of people online due to the presence of what appears to be a “question mark” (?) in the image.
So what in the cosmos formed the apparent punctuation mark in space?
The original image showcases two stars, Herbig-Haro 46/47, forming in the center of a disc of gas and dust, according to the ESA. Just beneath these stars, the enigmatic “question mark” can be spotted.
In an interview with Space.com, a representative of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) stated that the object is likely one or more galaxies “interacting.” The red color of the object suggests that it is quite distant, according to STScI.
Space.com reported that this sighting may be the first time an astronomer has observed a question mark in space.
The James Webb Space Telescope, considered the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, recently celebrated its one-year anniversary since its launch. This telescope, described as a “time machine” due to its ability to look billions of years into the past, is the largest space telescope ever launched. Operating from a more distant perch 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) away from Earth, the joint NASA-European Space Agency initiative aims to unravel the mysteries of the universe.
As the speculation continues about the nature of the “question mark” in space, astronomers and enthusiasts eagerly await further discoveries and insights from the James Webb Space Telescope.
(Credit for the image: NASA, ESA, CSA, J. DePasquale (STScI), CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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