Hubble Spies a Cosmic Eye
December 27, 2024
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured a stunning image of a cosmic eye, a celestial phenomenon formed by the gravitational lensing of a distant galaxy.
Gravitational lensing is a phenomenon in which the gravitational field of a massive object bends light from a distant object, causing it to appear distorted and magnified. In this case, the massive object is a galaxy cluster known as MACS J0717.5+3745. The distant object is a galaxy located behind the cluster.
As light from the distant galaxy passes through the gravitational field of the cluster, it is bent and distorted, creating multiple images of the galaxy. In the Hubble image, three of these images are visible, forming a “cosmic eye” shape.
The cosmic eye is not only a beautiful sight but also a valuable tool for astronomers. By studying the distortion of the galaxy’s images, astronomers can learn more about the mass and distribution of the galaxy cluster. This information can help them understand the evolution of galaxy clusters and how they affect the formation of galaxies.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been observing gravitational lensing for decades, and has played a key role in our understanding of this phenomenon. The cosmic eye is one of the most striking examples of gravitational lensing ever observed by Hubble, and it provides a fascinating glimpse into the distant universe.
Additional Information
- The distant galaxy in the cosmic eye is located about 13 billion light-years from Earth.
- The galaxy cluster MACS J0717.5+3745 is located about 4.6 billion light-years from Earth.
- The cosmic eye is about 1 million light-years across.
- Hubble’s Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) instrument was used to capture the image of the cosmic eye.
- The image was taken on December 25, 2024.
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NASA a new article on 2024-12-27 16:26 titled “Hubble Spies a Cosmic Eye”. Please write a detailed article on this news item, including any relevant information. Answers should be in English.
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