A physicist excited fans this week with a stunning new photo from the James Webb Space Telescope, then admitted that it was just a slice of tasty chorizo.
The director of France's Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, tienne Klein, shared a picture of a space telescope. There is a round reddish-orange object on a black background that looks like a view of a star.
The nearest star to the Sun is located 4.2 light years away. According to Klein, she was taken by the JWST. The level of detail is very high. There is a new world every day.
The James Webb Space Telescope has its first photos in the gallery.
Photo de Proxima du Centaure, l’étoile la plus proche du Soleil, située à 4,2 année-lumière de nous.Elle a été prise par le JWST.Ce niveau de détails… Un nouveau monde se dévoile jour après jour. pic.twitter.com/88UBbHDQ7ZJuly 31, 2022
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Klein's photo went viral, gathering 19,000 likes and more than 3000 retweets, which led the scientist to clarify that the image was not from the James Webb Space Telescope. It was a piece of Spanish sausage.
Klein said that cognitive biases seem to have a field day when it's time for the aperitif. There is no Spanish charcuterie object on Earth.
The scientist made it clear that it was meant to be in good fun after the angry comments of the fans.
In view of some comments, I felt compelled to clarify that the alleged snapshot of Proxima Centauri was a form of amusement. We should be wary of arguments from authority as much as we are of images.
Klein's image gained a lot of attention. NASA released the first science images from the new space observatory in July, and new images have been rolling out ever since.
The $10 billion JWST was launched in December of 2021. The farthest star we've ever seen is called Earendel and there is a stunning view of the Cartwheel galaxy.
If you want to follow him, email him at tmalik@space.com. We encourage you to follow us on social media.
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