While the universe is full of unanswered questions, a recent image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope has raised even more. The telescope’s high-resolution snapshot, taken with its Near-Infrared Camera, shows a pair of young stars in the process of formation, along with what appears to be a cosmic question mark at the bottom right corner. These stars, named Herbig-Haro 46/47, are surrounded by a disk of gas and dust and are located in the Vela Constellation, about 1,470 light-years away from Earth. Scientists estimate that these stars are only a few thousand years old and will take millions of years to fully form.
The image also includes extremely distant galaxies in the background. The European Space Agency explains that the blue objects with diffraction spikes are stars, with closer stars appearing larger. The white-and-pink spiral galaxies, although they appear larger than the stars, are actually much farther away. The tiniest red dots in the image are the oldest and most distant galaxies, which the James Webb Space Telescope specializes in detecting.
The object that resembles a question mark in the image is still a subject of debate among scientists. Representative from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which manages Webb’s science operations, speculate that it could be a distant galaxy or potentially interacting galaxies that have caused the distorted question mark shape.
The reddish hue of the object indicates its distance from us, according to the institute. They suggest that additional follow-up observations would be needed to determine its true nature. The James Webb Space Telescope is constantly discovering new and distant objects, providing exciting opportunities for further scientific research.
Various opinions have been offered regarding the object’s identity, with some experts suggesting it might be two merging galaxies. However, the possibilities are still numerous and further investigation is required to reach a definitive conclusion.
Julia Musto is a reporter for Fox News and Fox Business Digital.
