Though we all have differences, there’s one commonality that has prevailed for all of humanity: we are all floating on a rock, flying through outer space at over a million miles an hour.
Thanks to the rapid advancement of technology in the past century, we can observe much more of the universe than we ever thought possible.
The scale and sheer size of the universe make it impossible to truly learn everything, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.
Here's what's happening in space this week.
At the end of last month, NASA released a capture from the James Webb Space Telescope showcasing a detailed glimpse at two young stars actively forming.
The image quickly started circulating on social media, where some observant skywatchers noticed a mysterious mark near the bottom of the photo.
In the background of Webb's focus of this image, a pair of two young stars dubbed Herbig-Haro 46/47, lies what appears to be a very easily discernible question mark.
This curious celestial object immediately got people wondering: what is it?
“The question mark is probably a pair of galaxies in the background which are merging together," Dr. Christopher Britt of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, told IGN.
"As they approach and interact, the shape of each galaxy can be distorted, including by ripping out long streamers of stars and gas. For many galaxies, this happens multiple times as they grow, and our own Milky Way is no different.”
Matt Caplan, a professor of physics at Illinois State University, spoke with Space.com, agreeing with Dr. Britt that the cosmic question mark is likely the result of two galaxies combining.
"The two distinct features 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 color 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."
If it's true that the celestial punctuation is a product of two combining galaxies, our home galaxy, the Milky Way, may also one day resemble a question mark.
According to NASA, the Milky Way will encounter a major change in the next four billion years as it merges with our galactic neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy.
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