Gravitational microlensing, test of General Relativity. This effect (predicted by Einstein's Theory of Relativity) was first observed during the 1919
Gravitational microlensing, test of General Relativity. This effect (predicted by Einstein's Theory of Relativity) was first observed during the 1919 solar eclipse by British astronomer Arthur Eddington. This gravitational microlensing by a star outside the solar system has was detected for the first time by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The bright star at centre is the nearby white dwarf Stein 2051B, only 17 light years from Earth in the constellation of Camelopardalis. The smaller star below is about 5000 light years away. During the close alignment, the white dwarf's gravity bent the light from the distant star, making it appear offset by about 2 milliarcseconds from its actual position. Image date from the HST's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Image published in 2017.
Size: 3500px × 2625px
Photo credit: © NASA, ESA, and K. Sahu (STScI)/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -, 3, 2017, 2051b, 21st, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, camelopardalis, camera, century, dwarf, effect, einstein, field, general, gravitational, hst, hubble, lens, lensing, microlensing, optical, physics, relativistic, relativity, space, star, stein, telescope, universe, visible, wfc3, white, wide
