Hubble captures an ‘Einstein Ring’
The surprising effect is caused by the bending of light by intense gravity and reveals the depths of the universe.
Aug. 25, 2021, 8:51 AM CDT / Updated Aug. 25, 2021, 9:08 AM CDT
By Tom Metcalfe
A new photograph from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a stunning “Einstein Ring” billions of light-years from Earth — a phenomenon named after Albert Einstein, who predicted that gravity could bend light.
The round object at the center of the photograph released by the European Space Agency is actually three galaxies that appear as seven, with four separate images of the most distant of the galaxies forming a visible ring around the others.
The farthest galaxy — a special type of very bright galaxy with a gigantic black hole at its center known as a quasar — is about 15 billion light-years from Earth.
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https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/hubble-captures-einstein-ring-rcna1753?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_nw
