A Strange “Cosmic Message” from 7 Billion Years Ago Captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.
According to Sci-News, the research team led by Dr. Guillaume Desprez from Saint Mary’s University (Canada) has discovered a mysterious question mark made of red light appearing in the universe through new data from the James Webb Space Telescope.
This perspective had been observed by the older Hubble telescope, but at that time, no question mark was visible, as this structure was too far away and the light from it was blocked by cosmic dust along the way.
However, with its advanced observational capabilities, James Webb—over 30 years younger than Hubble—managed to capture infrared light with longer wavelengths. Thus, the question mark appears red.
The mysterious question mark structure revealed in James Webb data – (Image: NASA/ESA/CSA).
The study, recently published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, confirms that this is not a character sent by extraterrestrials, but rather a playful tease of nature.
The question mark in the James Webb data is actually a galaxy. Distance calculations indicate that the image we see of it belongs to a region of space from as far back as 7 billion years ago.
It was found accidentally while astronomers were studying the MACS-J0417.5-1154 galaxy cluster.
This enormous galaxy cluster acts as a “gravitational lens,” meaning its mass is large enough to cause gravitational interactions that warp the fabric of space-time.
When looking at these gravitational lenses, telescopes appear to be peering through a magnifying glass, with objects behind them being enlarged.
This allows us to see very distant objects that would otherwise be beyond the reach of telescopes. However, just like a magnifying glass, gravitational lenses can sometimes distort the objects behind them.
The mysterious question mark in the recently released image is one such example.
The research team states that in reality, the majority of the question mark is a galaxy comparable in size to the Milky Way galaxy in which Earth resides.
The red galaxy was discovered along with a spiral galaxy that it interacts with, which was previously detected by Hubble.
Both are being magnified and distorted in an unusual manner, resulting in what looks like a skeptical message from the universe.
Both galaxies in this “question mark” cluster are undergoing vigorous star formation, triggered by an ongoing merger.
Thus, we can say we are observing them at a special moment, significant for astronomical research.
Our Milky Way is believed to have undergone over 20 mergers. Observing similar events in a galaxy quite like ours can enhance our understanding of our own cosmic history.
