Hubble Space Telescope observation of a gravitationally lensed galaxy that is identified as SGAS J143845 +145407. Credit: ESA/Hubble & & NASA, J. Rigby
This intriguing observation from the Hubble Space Telescope exposes a gravitationally lensed galaxy with the verbose identifier SGAS J143845 +145407. Gravitational lensing has created a mirror image of the galaxy at the center of this image, developing a captivating centerpiece.
Gravitational lensing takes place when a very enormous celestial body– such as a galaxy cluster– causes an enough curvature of spacetime to bend the course of light around it, as if by a lens. Properly, the body causing the light to curve is called a gravitational lens, and the distorted background item is described as being “lensed.”.
Often, gravitational lensing can result in several images of the original things, as seen with the galaxy in this image, or in the background things looking like a distorted arc or even a ring. Another substantial impact of this lensing distortion is magnification, which permits astronomers to see things that would otherwise be too far away or too faint to be seen.
Hubble was the very first telescope to deal with details within lensed images of galaxies, and is capable of imaging both their shape and internal structure.
This particular lensed galaxy image is from a set of Hubble observations that take benefit of gravitational lensing to peer inside galaxies in the early Universe. The lensing reveals details of remote galaxies that would otherwise be unobtainable, and this enables astronomers to identify star development in early galaxies.
By ESA/Hubble
July 18, 2022
The NASA/ESA Hubble SPace Telescope has a special flair for finding lensed galaxies. The telescopes level of sensitivity and crystal-clear vision enable it to see very faint and remote gravitational lenses that can not be detected with ground-based telescopes because of the blurring effect of Earths atmosphere. Hubble was the first telescope to fix information within lensed images of galaxies, and is capable of imaging both their shape and internal structure.
This specific lensed galaxy image is from a set of Hubble observations that make the most of gravitational lensing to peer inside galaxies in the early Universe. The lensing reveals information of remote galaxies that would otherwise be unobtainable, and this permits astronomers to figure out star development in early galaxies. This in turn offers researchers a much better insight into how the overall development of galaxies has actually unfolded.