A new James Webb space telescope (JWST) image depicts a cosmic oddity that has scientists scratching their heads. Curious concentric rings surround WR140, a variable star around 5,600 light years away that alternately dims and brightens. While the six-pointed blue structure in the image is an optical artifact, the boxy nature of the spirals is real, leading some to suspect an alien or artificial source.

As reported on Live Science, JWST scientist Mark McCaughrean called the unusual feature "bonkers." The image came to light through citizen scientist Judy Schmidt, who researches JWST's public data files and shares her finds on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Ryan Lau, an astronomer at NOIRLab, has been studying the observations, and revealed that his team has submitted a paper on the WR140 anomaly, "so please stay tuned for the full stor