File this one under chorizo-related content.

A top French scientist has apologised after an internet-scale mix up involving a single chorizo slice. Taking to Twitter last week, Étienne Klein, a renowned physicist, posted what he claimed to be an image of a star 4.2 light years away, captured by NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope.

But instead of depicting Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, the image was merely a close up of one of Spain’s finest spicy sausages. “This level of detail…A new world is revealed day after day,” Klein wrote in his tweet (translated from French).

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

The tweet was liked and commented on thousands of times before Klein eventually clarified that it was in fact just a chorizo.

“According to contemporary cosmology, no object related to Spanish charcuterie exists anywhere else other than on Earth,” he wrote, blaming the tweet on cocktail hour. Unfortunately, the excuse was not enough for some, and Klein was faced with a backlash from duped Twitter users.

Personally, I am just happy that chorizo exists on this planet.

Amazing detailed image of the star closest to Planet Chorizo.

[photo captured using the James Webb Telescope] pic.twitter.com/YDZTA2tJ1Y

— Donnie Junior (@Dbrasco37) August 5, 2022