Scientist Étienne Klein, director of France’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, shared the purported photo of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) on July 31. The photo shows a round reddish-orange object on a black background that appears to be a view of a star. “Photo of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, located 4.2 light years from us. Taken by JWST,” Klein tweeted (opens in new tab), according to a Google translation. “This level of detail… A new world is revealed every day.” Gallery: The 1st pictures of the James Webb Space Telescope Photo of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, located 4.2 light years from us. Taken by JWST. This level of detail… A new world is unfolding day by day. pic.twitter.com/88UBbHDQ7Z July 31, 2022 See more Klein’s photo went viral, garnering 19,000 likes and more than 3,000 retweets, prompting the scientist to clarify that the image was not from the famed James Webb Space Telescope, whose first science photos were released by NASA in July. Instead, it was a slice of the Spanish chorizo sausage. “Well, when it’s aperitif time, cognitive biases seem to have a field day…” Klein added in a follow-up tweet (opens in new tab). “According to modern cosmology, no object belonging to the Spanish deli exists anywhere but on Earth.” Klein’s tweets apparently sparked some angry comments from JWST fans, prompting the scientist to make it clear that he was just meant to be in fun. “In light of some comments, I feel compelled to clarify that this tweet showing an alleged snapshot of Proxima Centauri was a form of entertainment.” wrote (opens in new tab). “Let us learn to be as wary of the arguments of authority as of the spontaneous eloquence of certain images.” No wonder Klein’s purported JWST image gained such a wide audience. In July, NASA released the first science images from the new space observatory—the largest and most powerful space telescope mankind has yet built—and new images have been released ever since. NASA launched the $10 billion JWST in December 2021 on a mission to see the first stars and galaxies in our universe. So far, images from JWST have revealed a surprise supernova, the most distant star we’ve ever seen (called Earendel), an amazing view of the Cartwheel Galaxy, a dizzying Phantom Galaxy, and the deepest view of the universe we’ve ever seen. Email Tariq Malik at [email protected] (opens in new tab) or follow @tariqjmalik (opens in new tab). Follow us @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab), Fa (opens in new tab)cebook and Instagram (opens in new tab).
