Photo of the Day: Largest Known Einstein Ring in the Universe
In the Image of the Week heading on the NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope website, a stunning image of GAL-CLUS-022058s, a galaxy in the constellation Fornax, is presented.
The photo captures one of the most complete and largest known Einstein rings in the universe. The image of the galaxy is distorted to a ring-shaped shape under the influence of a cluster of galaxies located closer to us.
The image shows us the effect of gravitational lensing. Einstein’s theory of relativity predicts that bodies deform the spacetime around them, which leads to the deflection of light rays.
It should be emphasized that this effect can be observed only in very massive objects. In this case, the Einstein ring has a pronounced shape.
We add that the Hubble Orbital Telescope, which captured the structure of GAL-CLUS-022058s, was launched more than 30 years ago – in April 1990. For three decades of service, the observatory has collected a colossal amount of scientific data, the significance of which cannot be overestimated.
