One of the most recent photographs taken by NASA‘s James Webb Space Telescope was photobombed by a cosmic object that resembled a luminous question mark, and scientists believe they know what it could be.
Herbig-Haro 46/47, a pair of young stars, were shown in the initial near-infrared photograph, which was published on July 26. The stars, which can be found 1,470 light-years away in the Vela constellation of the Milky Way galaxy, are still actively developing and are in close orbits around one another.
Since the 1950s, ground- and space-based telescopes have viewed and studied the two, but the very sensitive Webb telescope has produced the sharpest and most detailed image ever. Compared to other space telescopes, it can observe the universe using longer wavelengths of light.
The Webb telescope sheds light on knowledge about the universe’s beginnings, but the presence of this enigmatic object in the image’s background raises more questions than it does answers. Since the cosmic question mark hasn’t been closely seen or investigated, scientists are unsure of the object’s history and composition.
But based on its form and location, they do have a few theories.
According to Matt Caplan, an assistant professor of physics at Illinois State University, “the very first thing you can rule out is that it’s a star in the Milky Way.” Because stars are point-like, they constantly have these enormous spikes. Diffraction is a phenomenon that mostly results from the edges of the mirrors and the struts that support the type of camera in the middle.
If you look closely, you can typically see six or eight stellar “prongs” with the Webb telescope, Caplan added. He described the apparition as having the shape of a question mark as “it tells you immediately that it’s not a star.”
According to Christopher Britt, an education and outreach scientist in the office of public outreach at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which oversees the science operations of the Webb telescope, it could be a merger of two galaxies that are much more distant than Herbig-Haro 46/47 at a distance of likely billions of light-years apart.
“Many, many galaxies outside of our own Milky Way,” stated Britt. As galaxies expand and change over cosmic time, they occasionally collide with their nearby neighbours, and this seems to be a rather common occurrence.
And when that occurs, they can deform into a variety of shapes, including, presumably, a question mark.
The merging of galaxies into a question mark-like shape has occurred previously, including a reverse version made by the Antennae Galaxies in the Corvus constellation, however it is likely the first time this particular item has been seen, according to specialists. Additionally, Britt noted that most galaxies have seen a number of brief contacts like this during their histories.
Nothing can be anchored in space, according to Caplan. “The sun is moving as it orbits the galaxy, and the galaxy, being made of stars, is moving in whichever direction gravity pulls it.”
Our galaxy will eventually merge with the Andromeda galaxy in around 4 billion years, although it is unknown how they will look. This integration is also our galaxy’s ultimate fate, according to Britt.
It’s also possible that the shape of the question mark is “indicative of a merger where these two galaxies are interacting gravitationally,” according to Britt. “That hook of the question mark on top looks a lot like what we refer to as a tidal tail, where the stream of stars and gas has kind of been ripped off and flown out into space,” the observer said.
More spectroscopic information on the object would provide additional information, including its distance and chemical make-up, according to Britt and Caplan.
However, no one will do this since it is extremely similar to the story of the “local man who finds a chicken tender that looks like George Washington,” Caplan added. But if you were driven enough, you could make some observations.