A French scientist apologized after tweeting a photo of chorizo and claiming it was an image of a distant star captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.
The image of the spicy Spanish sausage was shared on Twitter last week by Étienne Klein, a celebrated physicist and director at France’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, who praised the “level of detail” it provided.
“Picture of Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Sun, located 4.2 light years away from us. It was taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. This level of detail… A new world is unveiled everyday,” he told his more than 91,000 followers on Sunday.
Photo de Proxima du Centaure, l’étoile la plus proche du Soleil, située à 4,2 année-lumière de nous.
— Etienne KLEIN (@EtienneKlein) July 31, 2022
Elle a été prise par le JWST.
Ce niveau de détails… Un nouveau monde se dévoile jour après jour. pic.twitter.com/88UBbHDQ7Z
Thousands of users retweeted and commented on the post, taking the scientist at his word. Things, however, were not as they appeared.
Klein later admitted in a series of follow-up tweets that the image was a close-up of a chorizo slice against a black background.
“Well, when it’s cocktail hour, cognitive bias seem to find plenty to enjoy… Beware of it. According to contemporary cosmology, no object related to Spanish charcuterie exists anywhere else other than on Earth”
After receiving criticism from members of the online community for the prank, he wrote: “In view of certain comments, I feel obliged to specify that this tweet showing an alleged picture of Proxima Centauri was a joke. Let’s learn to be wary of the arguments from positions of authority as much as the spontaneous eloquence of certain images.”
Klein apologized for the hoax on Wednesday, saying his intention was “to urge caution regarding images that seem to speak for themselves.”
Klein apologized for the hoax on Wednesday, saying his intention was “to urge caution regarding images that seem to speak for themselves.”
To make amends, he posted an image of the spectacular Cartwheel galaxy, assuring followers that the photo was genuine this time.
On July 12, the Webb telescope, the most powerful telescope ever launched into space, began scientific operations. It will be able to peer inside the atmospheres of exoplanets and observe some of the first galaxies formed after the creation of the universe by viewing them in infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye.
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