Gravitational Lensing System
This picture showcases a gravitational lensing system called SDSS J0928+2031. Gravitational lensing can help astronomers study objects that would otherwise be too faint or appear too small for us to view. When a massive object such as a massive cluster of galaxies, as seen here, distorts space with its immense gravitational field, it causes light from more distant galaxies to travel along altered and warped paths. It also amplifies the light. In this image, two dominant elliptical galaxies are near the center of the image. The gravity from the galaxy cluster that is the home of these galaxies is acting as the gravitational lens, allowing more distant galaxies sitting behind them to be seen. The effects of this lensing are the narrow, curved streaks of light surrounding both of the large galaxies.
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Photo credit: © Science History Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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