This giant cosmic 'question mark' in space needs answers. What is it really?

James Webb Space Telescope of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released several stunning images of space ever since it was launched in December 2021. But a recent image has left the users baffled, as it has posed a giant cosmic question...quite literally.

NASA shared a breathtaking image taken by James Webb in which a pair of actively forming young stars, known as Herbig-Haro 46/47, can be seen in high-resolution near-infrared light.

NASA noted in a statement that "Herbig-Haro 46/47 is an important object to study because it is relatively young – only a few thousand years old".

As the space agency elaborated on the details of the image it shared, users were quick to focus on a strange celestial object after zooming in towards the bottom centre of the infrared photo. They found the shape of a "question mark".

NASA didn't mention anything about the so-called question mark. But to get a better understanding, Space.com spoke to some experts.

As quoted by the outlet, representatives of the Space Telescope Science Institute, which manages the telescope's science operations, said that "it is probably a distant galaxy, or potentially interacting galaxies (their interactions may have caused the distorted question mark shape)".

And the institute said that since it appears red in the observation, it's quite far away.

The representatives added: "This may be the first time we've seen this particular object. An additional follow-up would be required to figure out what it is with any certainty. Webb is showing us many new, distant galaxies — so there's a lot of new science to be done!"

The outlet also quoted Matt Caplan, who is an assistant professor of physics at Illinois State University.

Caplan told the outlet that it "could easily be merging galaxies in the background, with the upper part of the question mark being part of a larger galaxy getting tidally disrupted".

He said, "Given the colour of some of the other background galaxies, this doesn't seem like the worst explanation. Despite how chaotic mergers are, double-lobed objects with curvy tails extending away from them are very typical."

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