French Scientist Trolls Twitter By Claiming Chorizo Slice Is Actually A Distant Star
A French scientist has apologized after claiming a photo of a piece of Spanish chorizo was actually of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun.
On Sunday, physicist Étienne Klein tweeted a photo of a round red object on a black background that he claimed was taken from the James Webb Space Telescope.
“This level of detail… A new world is revealed day after day,” he wrote in the tweet, which can be seen below.
Photo de Proxima du Centaure, l’étoile la plus proche du Soleil, située à 4,2 année-lumière de nous.
Elle a été prise par le JWST.
Ce niveau de détails… Un nouveau monde se dévoile jour après jour. pic.twitter.com/88UBbHDQ7Z— Etienne KLEIN (@EtienneKlein) July 31, 2022
Less than an hour later, Klein posted another tweet where he suggested his followers beware of “cognitive biases,” and noted that “according to contemporary cosmology, no object belonging to Spanish charcuterie exists anywhere but on Earth.”
Bon, quand sonne l’heure de l’apéritif, les biais cognitifs semblent s’en donner à cœur joie… Gare, donc, à eux. Selon la cosmologie contemporaine, nul objet relevant de la charcuterie espagnole n’existe ailleurs que sur Terre.
— Etienne KLEIN (@EtienneKlein) July 31, 2022
A few hours later, Klein admitted he posted the original sausage star photo “as a form of amusement,” and tried to turn the prank into a teachable moment, saying, “Let us learn to be wary of arguments from authority.”
Au vu de certains commentaires, je me sens obligé de préciser que ce tweet montrant un prétendu cliché de Proxima du Centaure relevait d’une forme d’amusement. Apprenons à nous méfier des arguments d’autorité autant que de l’éloquence spontanée de certaines images….
— Etienne KLEIN (@EtienneKlein) July 31, 2022
On Tuesday, Klein posted a photo that really was taken from the James Webb Space Telescope and promised it was “REAL this time.”
Photo (VRAIE cette fois…) de la galaxie de la Roue du Chariot et de ses galaxies compagnes, prise par le JWST. Située à 500 millions d’années-lumière, elle fut sans doute spirale dans son passé, mais a pris cette étrange allure à la suite d’un furieux carambolage galactique. pic.twitter.com/vmiDjU1Gjt
— Etienne KLEIN (@EtienneKlein) August 3, 2022
Klein officially apologized for the “scientist’s joke” on Wednesday, and said he just wanted to urge caution about believing images that seemed too good to be true.
Je viens présenter mes excuses à ceux que mon canular, qui n’avait rien d’original, a pu choquer. Il voulait simplement inciter à la prudence vis-à-vis des images qui semblent éloquentes par elles-mêmes.
La blague d'un scientifique https://t.co/wHiJWxscxq#Astronomie via @LePoint— Etienne KLEIN (@EtienneKlein) August 3, 2022
Many Twitter users grudgingly admired Klein’s “chorizo star” post.
when you realize you will never shitpost this good 😔 https://t.co/uumMKIcj84
— Tyler Glaiel (@TylerGlaiel) August 5, 2022
A French scientists apologized for tweeting a sliced sausage and saying it's Proxima Centauri through the James Webb Space Telescope because everyone is a humorless bore now. https://t.co/HvGejAls1P
— Mike Elgan (@MikeElgan) August 5, 2022
The real scandal here is a Frenchman eating *Spanish* sausage https://t.co/LHihbFqrSf
— Benedict Evans (@benedictevans) August 5, 2022
The most delicious planet ever. https://t.co/NCDoeNtisXhttps://t.co/S14HWiFYPX
— David Emery (@debunker) August 5, 2022
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.