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he James Webb Space Telescope He continues to amaze the scientific world with his stunning pictures of the universe. Last week, this marvel of technology captured an amazing photo of Herbig Harrow 46/47a pair of newly formed stars only a few thousand years old… with a hidden question.
While this image in and of itself is quite impressive, in recent days an interesting cosmic “lightbomber” has appeared and stolen the limelight.
As he explains it Tech SpotLocated in the Milky Way and at a distance of approximately 1,470 light-years from Earth, Herbig-Haro is a close relative in cosmic terms. but, In the background of this image are thousands of other objects.
Although some of them may be stars, many are distant galaxies that appear as simple points of light in the image… Or as familiar symbols on Earth.
spatial question mark
But what baffled scientists was an unexpected finding in the high-resolution image captured with the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam). Below and slightly to the right of the Herbig-Haro Nebula, There is a small orange spot. A more detailed note reveals this This point forms an almost perfectly aligned question mark (?).
Although scientists have not yet confirmed with certainty the nature of this object, they have two strong theories in mind. Representatives of the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is responsible for Webb’s science operations, speculate that this cosmic question mark It could be a distant galaxy or even a pair of galaxies interacting with each other.
For his part, Illinois State University Assistant Professor of Physics Matt Kaplan said, It indicates that the object could be the result of the merger of two galaxies. The upper bend, he explained, could be a sign that the larger galaxy is “ripping tides.”
Another possibility is that one or two independent galaxies are nearby but without interaction.. If this is true, then the mysterious question mark may remain the same for millions of years or even longer. One thing for sure is that they are not stars, as they lack the characteristic refracting ripples characteristic of bright objects.
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