The Brief

The James Webb Space Telescope recently captured a stunning new image of what scientists call a pair of actively forming stars.

But eagle-eyed viewers were quick to seize on an even tinier — and to some, more intriguing — detail at the very bottom of the frame: an orange formation in the unmistakable shape of a question mark, tail and all.

The photo — which is actually a composite of a half-dozen infrared images — went viral on social media sites like X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit after the European Space Agency (one of the three agencies behind the telescope) shared it late last month, prompting the ESA to clarify weeks later that "it's not a hoax."

"The aliens know we've found them and now they're just messing with us," one Reddit user wrote.

The photo shows a tightly bound pair of young stars known as Herbig-Haro 46/47, surrounded by a disc of gas and dust, and dotted by distant galaxies and stars in the background.

ESA says Herbig-Haro 46/47 is important to study because it's "only a few thousand years old" — and since stars take millions of years to form, its young age offers researchers a chance to observe how stars gather mass over time (and to potentially model the formation of one of the most famous stars, the sun).

A new photo from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a tightly bound pair of actively forming stars (at the center of the red spikes). But many people are more curious about the question mark-shaped structure highlighted at the bottom middle of the frame.

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NASA, ESA, CSA, J. DePasquale (STScI)

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Even so, scientists acknowledge, it's not the only notable formation in the photo.

Macarena Garcia Marin, a Webb project scientist with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore (which manages the telescope's science operations), told NPR in an email that the question mark is "a great example of how, with Webb, no matter what you are looking at, you can have surprises in the background."

And she has at least one theory for why it's resonating so much with people.

"I think we all enjoy finding familiar shapes in the sky; that creates a deep connection between our human experience and language in this case and the beauty of the Universe surrounding us," Garcia Marin writes. "I think this exemplifies the human need for exploration and wonder, and to me, it brings the question of how many other interesting objects are out there waiting to be explored with Webb."

So what exactly is it?

Scientists say the punctuation-shaped object appears to be two or more galaxies merging — the intense process through which galaxies collide (the Milky Way itself is the byproduct of one such merger).

An image from the Hubble telescope of compact galaxies known as Stephan''s Quintet, July 19, 2001. At least two of the galaxies have been involved in high-speed collisions which have ripped stars and gas from neighboring galaxies and caused the development of more than 100 star clusters and several dwarf galaxies. (Photo Courtesy of NASA/Getty Images)

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NASA

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"It looks like a group or a chance alignment of 2 or 3 galaxies," Kai Noeske, ESA communication program officer, said over email. "The upper part of the question mark looks like a distorted spiral galaxy, maybe merging with a second galaxy."

ESA study scientist Nora Luetzgendorf says that while it's too far away to say for sure, the arc of the question mark likely comes from the tidal interaction between the galaxies, "and the dot might as well be just a smaller spherical galaxy."

Galaxy mergers are actually a very common astrophysical phenomenon, she adds — even our own galaxy is interacting with its neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy. Garcia Marin similarly calls them "a normal phase in the life and evolution of galaxies."

But that doesn't mean we see them very often.

It's "all about projection," Garcia Marin explains. She says the reason we see the galaxies in a question mark shape is a result of both the angle with which they have encountered each other and our own point of view.

"This 'question mark' shape figure perfectly exemplifies projection effects when looking at the sky," she adds. "What we measure is a 2D image of a Universe that is filled with objects spanning time and space. We see their projection; that question mark-shaped object is much further away from us than HH 46/47 and it does not have a direct impact on it."

But she does note one interesting connection between the two phenomena.

In general, she says, the process of galaxies interacting with each other can trigger the formation of stars — "and objects like HH 46/47, the main subject of the image, could be born."

What can it teach us?

Galaxy mergers generate "all kinds of beautiful shapes and structures," Garcia Marin says — especially depending on the angle from which they are perceived.

One example is Stephan's Quintet, a visual grouping of five close-together galaxies located in the constellation Pegasus. It was one of the first images released from the Webb telescope last summer, showing a swirling cluster of stars and sweeping tails.

Luetzgendorf says images of some of the interacting galaxies closer by (relatively speaking), like the Whirlpool galaxy and Antennae galaxies, bear some resemblance to the structure people are talking about now.

This Chandra X-ray image released 16 August, 2000 by NASA shows the central regions of two galaxies known as the Antennae Galaxies in collision.

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NASA/NASA/AFP via Getty Images

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AFP

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"You can see the similarities and how from a different perspective and from farther away, this might look like a question mark," she adds.

Given that mergers are relatively common, and the new photos are really focused on the growing stars, is there anything new we can learn from the question mark hidden within? Garcia Marin thinks so.

"If this is a galaxy merger," she says, "its relevance would be to see how it fits in what we know about mergers and their importance for galaxy evolution."

New data from the Port of L.A. for March released on Monday shows a 7% increase in exports compared to the same month last year, with 132,000 containers leaving the port despite the turmoil in the Middle East.

“That's the highest output number for the export containers that we've seen in nearly two years,” Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of L.A. “While encouraging, we have much more work to do to develop a consistent upward trend."

The overall percentage change in container traffic in and out of the port in March is in the single digits, a 3% drop compared to the same month last year. Seroka said that’s because uncertainty over tariffs a year ago led companies to scramble to get their products through ports.

The longstanding trade deficit continues

However, while there’s an upward trend in exports, the data confirms something that’s been true for years: the U.S. is in a trade deficit. In March, overseas companies sent about three times more goods to consumers here than were sent out of the port by American companies. Last month, the port processed over 380,000 incoming containers, mostly from China, Vietnam and Japan.

That trans-Pacific commerce is insulating the Port of L.A. container volume from one of the most consequential geopolitical conflicts in recent memory — the war with Iran.

“So far, it's a concern, but it's not a worry,” Seroka said.

An electric top handler moves cargo off of semi-trucks at the Port of Los Angeles.

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Joel Angel Juarez

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CalMatters

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Foreign shipping companies that do business with the Port of L.A., as well as ports in the Middle East, are doing what they can to protect their trade with the U.S., Seroka said.

“The transpacific business is the most lucrative of any east west [trade] for the service providers and shipping lines… they'll go to great lengths to make sure those supply chains remain intact,” he said.

The port is the busiest in the Western hemisphere, generating more than $300 billion in trade last year, making it an important regional and national economic engine.

But the war is affecting shipping companies and consumers in other ways. The price of gasoline has gone up, as well as cargo ship fuel, which will likely be passed on to consumers.

The directors of a beloved Los Angeles puppetry institution said Monday their theater is here to stay now that they’ve worked out a plan to buy their building.

The Bob Baker Marionette Theater has been delighting L.A. kids — and kids at heart — since 1963. But in 2019, a landlord’s redevelopment plans forced the theater to move from its original location near downtown L.A. to its current venue in Highland Park.

Co-executive director Mary Fagot said discussions to purchase the building began in 2024. Those talks have culminated in a deal to buy the building for $5 million from its owner, Capstone Equities.

Once the sale is complete, Bob Baker will be able to redirect rent money to new programming, field trips and special events, Fagot said.

“Buying the building means that we won't be subject to rent increases or even another displacement in the future,” she said. “We'll be able to go on presenting our special brand of magic, creativity and imagination, here in this location, forever.”

How puppetry lovers can help secure the deal

The theater said it has already raised $4.5 million for the purchase from organizations such as the Perenchio Foundation, the Kohl Family Foundation and the Ahmanson Foundation, as well as philanthropists and celebrities, including Wallis Annenberg, Jack Black and Tanya Haden.

Now the theater is asking the public for help raising the last $500,000, so it can close the deal without carrying debt into the future.

The news comes as new audiences have been getting to see White Cat, Skateboarding Clown, Gorgeous and all of the theater’s other distinctive puppets in action.

Bob Baker puppeteers brought their talents to Coachella last weekend. They’ll be there again this weekend, adding a dash of whimsy to a lineup that includes headliners Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G.

What’s next?

The theater is also prepping to debut its first new show in 40 years, an hour-long train-themed adventure called Choo Choo Revue.

Fagot said L.A. families are always bringing new generations of kids to their regular shows in Highland Park.

“To be able to say with certainty that this theater will be here for my kids and my kids' kids, and really for the cultural landscape of Los Angeles for generations to come — it feels like a really big deal, not just for us, but for L.A.,” Fagot said.

Rep. Eric Swalwell said Monday that he will resign his seat in Congress, a day after he suspended his campaign for California governor following explosive allegations of sexual assault and misconduct from four women, including a former staff member, published by two news outlets.

He said he would "fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make."

Swalwell’s campaign collapsed Friday soon after the first report in the San Francisco Chronicle, in which the unnamed former staff member said Swalwell solicited oral sex from her while she was working for him and twice sexually assaulted her when she was too drunk to consent. The account was corroborated with medical records and by people the woman spoke with after the last incident, which she said took place in New York in 2024.

CNN later Friday published the same woman’s account, as well as those of three other women, one of whom said he kissed and touched her inappropriately and two of whom alleged he sent unsolicited nude photos and other inappropriate messages on Snapchat.

Dozens of supporters and staffers quickly dropped their support for him. Major unions and congressional candidates pulled their endorsements.

It was unclear when Swalwell would step down, but he said he would work with his congressional staff to ensure they are able to meet the needs of his San Francisco East Bay district, where he was first elected in 2013.

Because he is leaving the race after a state deadline to file for or withdraw from a race, his name will still appear on the June 2 primary ballot.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.