Toward the largest map of the Universe: Euclid telescope captures rare Einstein ring
Kyiv • UNN
The Euclid Space Telescope has discovered a unique phenomenon of gravitational lensing at a distance of more than 4 billion light-years.
The breathtaking image shows the neighboring galaxy NGC 6505 surrounded by a perfect circle of light, and a more distant galaxy can also be seen.
This is reported by UNN with reference to European Space Agency.
The Euclid Space Telescope has recorded a rare phenomenon called the Einstein ring, which occurs when light from a distant galaxy is distorted by the gravity of another galaxy.
The breathtaking image shows the nearby galaxy NGC 6505 surrounded by a perfect circle of light. It is also explained that the ring allows us to look into a more distant galaxy located directly behind NGC 6505.
For reference
Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity predicts that light bends around massive objects in space. Thus, galaxies can act like huge lenses.
A gravitational lens is a massive body or system of bodies (a galaxy, a cluster of galaxies) that distorts the direction of radiation propagation with its gravitational field, just as a conventional lens distorts a light beam.
Gravitational lensing is used to study many phenomena and objects in the far reaches of the Universe.
The gravitational fields of galaxies and galaxy clusters can create noticeable lensing effects. Dark Matter (the mysterious substance that physicists believe makes up most of the Universe) also has a gravitational effect and can cause lensing.
Unlocking the secrets of dark matter and dark energy, which together make up 95% of the universe, is the main goal of the European Space Agency's €1 billion (£850 million) mission.
Einstein rings are a powerful tool for astronomers because they detect objects and indicate the mass of the intervening galaxy, including any hidden mass in the form of dark matter.
A rare phenomenon in the lens
The European Space Agency has published images of the phenomenon, which depict the galaxy NGC 6505, located at a distance of 590 million light years from Earth, surrounded by a perfect circle of light.
I find it very intriguing that this ring was observed inside a well-known galaxy first discovered in 1884. This galaxy has been known to astronomers for a long time. However, this ring has never been observed before. This shows how powerful Euclid is, able to find new things even in places we thought were well known
Einstein's ring is an example of gravitational lensing. All gravitational lenses are special because they are rare and incredibly useful, but this one is especially extraordinary because it is so close to the Earth and the alignment makes it beautiful
Euclid Space Telescope
Euclid was selected in 2011 as a “mid-range” mission for ESA's Cosmic Vision program and, together with Herschel and Planck Surveyor, is now part of the ESA's Space Science Program. The telescope is equipped with a visible and infrared Korsch telescope (anastigmatic three-mirror) with a mirror diameter of 1.2 meters and is placed in a halo orbit at the Lagrange point L2 of the Sun-Earth system.
The Euclid telescope, capable of detecting galaxies at a distance of up to 10 billion light years. Currently, the goal is to create the largest 3D space map, which will allow astronomers to conclude on the large-scale distribution of dark matter and reveal the influence of dark energy, a mysterious force that accelerates the expansion of the Universe.
