An apology is needed after a new picture of the star appears to be a slice of chorizo

As a result of the discovery of a picture that he claimed was a stunning image of a star, a world-renowned scientist has been forced to issue an apology after sharing what was a slice of chorizo.

He referred to this star as Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to Earth, in an image. In recent weeks, a host of stunning images have been revealed from the James Webb Space Telescope.

The image displayed a deep red and swirling white coloration that appeared legitimate at first glance.

On closer inspection, the image revealed something rather more mundane: a slice of chorizo against a black background.

The tweet was sent some hours after Dr. Klein clarified he was joking. According to him, hungry people give in to cognitive biases - and that person should be aware of these biases.“In contemporary cosmology, Spanish charcuterie objects exist only on Earth,” he said.

A short time later, he said he needed to respond to comments that suggested he had been mistaken. When faced with this picture, he reminded his followers to be skeptical of authority arguments as well as convincing images.

Still, many of Dr. Klein's followers criticized his attempt to trick people as irresponsible. Many people will have seen his original post but not the follow-up clarifications, because trusting scientists is crucial to avoid being manipulated by false stories.

Several other Twitter users also reprimanded Dr. Klein for not crediting them with his joke. He continued to apologize several days later. He apologizes to anyone who was shocked by the hoax.

A second time, he said he had only posted the picture to make people cautious about spectacular images that weren't properly contextualized. Dr. Klein also tweeted a copy of the distant Cartwheel galaxy, which he emphasized was real this time.