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
Who knew scientists could also be expert level trolls? Prominent physicist and director at France's Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, Étienne Klein, tweeted out recently a picture of what he described as, "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."
Folks were thrilled. The picture was retweeted and commented on thousands of times, as the audience took the renowned scientist's word with full confidence.
Klein then activated troll mode by later revealing that the detailed picture of the distant star was actually a slice of chorizo set against a black backdrop. Womp.
Earlier this week, Klein apologized for the prank, revealing his true intention of the tweet was to urge folks to be wary of fake news online.
