Zippoman924Feb 11, 2025
Corey S Powell

People have been observing galaxy NGC 6505 for 140 years, but only now noticed an "Einstein ring" at its center. There, gravity has bent and magnified another, more distant galaxy into a delicate ring of light.

The universe is full of beautiful, hidden surprises.

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid/Euclid_discovers_a_stunning_Einstein_ring #space #science #photography

Euclid discovers a stunning Einstein ring

Euclid, the European Space Agency’s dark Universe detective, has made an astonishing discovery – right in our cosmic backyard.

Feb 11, 2025 at 5:33amWeb
Show threadCorey S PowellFeb 11, 2025

How to transform a galaxy into a ring of light: a quick primer.

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid/Euclid_discovers_a_stunning_Einstein_ring #science #nature #astronomy

Euclid discovers a stunning Einstein ring

Euclid, the European Space Agency’s dark Universe detective, has made an astonishing discovery – right in our cosmic backyard.

Show threadGeckenFeb 11, 2025
Amazing!
Show threadCorey S PowellFeb 11, 2025

@Gecken

Intellectually, I understand how these things happen. But when I look at this picture, I still have a hard time remembering that this is really how physics works.

Show threadScott D. Strader 😐Feb 11, 2025
@coreyspowell From the initial photo on the right it looks like the distant galaxy is "lensed" in four locations on the ring and kindof smeared out. In the illustration it kindof looks like a single smear (or maybe two?). I can't imagine how the four-locations thing would happen--maybe distorted refraction?!--so are we seeing four distinct copies of the galaxy?
Show threadDJDWFeb 11, 2025
@coreyspowell Question.. is that similar to what we see when we see a "sun dog"?
Show threadDuncan BluesFeb 11, 2025

@coreyspowell
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
- Douglas Adams

Show threadaeternumFeb 11, 2025
@coreyspowell crazy to think there are billions of galaxies, trillions of stars, probably quadrillions of planets, and people think we’re alone in the universe
Show threadMark Wyner Won’t Comply Feb 11, 2025
@coreyspowell space is rad.
Show threadEricka SimoneFeb 11, 2025
@coreyspowell I love it when science.
Show threadSpaceLifeFormFeb 11, 2025

@coreyspowell

That is really good alignment from our perspective.

#Physics

Show threadTroubleFeb 11, 2025
@draNgNon
Show threadmccFeb 11, 2025
@coreyspowell wait, so does this mean that galaxy has a black hole at the center, and is that a new observation (ie a galaxy which definitely, instead of by assumption, has a black hole at the center?)
Show threadrukenauFeb 11, 2025

@mcc @coreyspowell Einstein rings are just generally how gravity focuses light. You could see Einstein rings around the Sun at the right distance away. That's what's behind the Solar Gravitational Lens idea - see for example https://www.universetoday.com/155642/using-the-sun-as-a-gravitational-lens-would-let-us-see-exoplanets-with-incredible-resolution

What this really means is that this galaxy is aligned with another in the distance. It's an amazing coincidence that lets us see further than otherwise possible.

Using the Sun as a Gravitational Lens Would Let Us See Exoplanets With Incredible Resolution

Have you ever seen wispy arcs and rings in astronomical images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories? These unusual features are caused by a quirk of nature called gravitational lensing, which occurs when light from a distant object is distorted by a closer massive object along the same line of sight. This … Continue reading "Using the Sun as a Gravitational Lens Would Let Us See Exoplanets With Incredible Resolution"

Universe Today
Show threadrukenauFeb 11, 2025
@mcc @coreyspowell It might not be impossible to prove the existence of a black hole. Someone with more general relativity knowledge than I have could probably calculate the curvature needed to produce this ring and compare it to the volume of space making it. If that's high enough, it would need to be from a black hole. That would still be indirect evidence, though. Light bends the same whether dark matter, star clusters, or black holes provide the gravity.
Show threadLorenAmelangFeb 11, 2025
@coreyspowell
What is the size ratio between the first photo everyone posts, and the second one where even my lousy vision sees the ring? Do other people see that ring in the first photo?