homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Astronomers use massive objects in space as huge telescopes, find brightest galaxy via gravity lens

Whenever a massive object, with an equally massive gravitational pull, like black holes or galaxy clusters, falls between an observer, say a telescope, and a distant target in the background to be observed, than a gravitational lens is formed. Light emitted from the distant object gets twisted by the massive object, and ends up distorted […]

Tibi Puiu
February 7, 2012 @ 8:25 am

share Share

Whenever a massive object, with an equally massive gravitational pull, like black holes or galaxy clusters, falls between an observer, say a telescope, and a distant target in the background to be observed, than a gravitational lens is formed. Light emitted from the distant object gets twisted by the massive object, and ends up distorted at the telescope – this can be magnified, like if the light passed through a huge telescope. Gravity lenses are critical to astronomical observations of distant objects, which aid scientists learn more about how early galaxies formed, and how the Universe came to be.

Illustration showing how a foreground galaxy cluster that stands between Hubble and the background galaxy to be imaged acts like a lens in space, warping space like a funhouse mirror due to massive gravity. The resulting image is stretched into an arc, which scientists need to correct for an accurate view. (c) NASA

Illustration showing how a foreground galaxy cluster that stands between Hubble and the background galaxy to be imaged acts like a lens in space, warping space like a funhouse mirror due to massive gravity. The resulting image is stretched into an arc, which scientists need to correct for an accurate view. (c) NASA

Recently, the Hubble Space Telescope harnessed such a gravitational lens, created by a cluster of closer galaxies located about 5 billion light-years away, and captured a distant galaxy 10 billion light-years away. The researchers found it was  three times brighter than any other seen through a gravity lens, and like many great scientific discoveries, it was all discovered by accident.

“This observation provides a unique opportunity to study the physical properties of a galaxy vigorously forming stars when the universe was only one-third its present age,” NASA officials explained

The problem with gravitational lenses is the distortion itself, which makes zooming possible in the first place. Astronomers aimed the space telescope at the galaxy cluster RCS2 032727-132623, which is surrounded by a nearly 90-degree arc of bright light from an even more distant galaxy. Because of the distortions, the image of the background galaxy is repeated several times. Using Hubble data, astronomers carefully removed the distortions and instead left an clear and enchanting sight of the distant galaxy filled with star-forming areas that shine brighter than similar spots in our own Milky Way.

The zoom in rectangle shows the brightest galaxy so far found through a gravity lens. It's 20 times larger and over three times brighter than typically lensed galaxies.The rounded outlines that form an arc are actually the remnant distortions discussed in the article. (c) NASA

The zoom in rectangle shows the brightest galaxy so far found through a gravity lens. It's 20 times larger and over three times brighter than typically lensed galaxies.The rounded outlines that form an arc are actually the remnant distortions discussed in the article. (c) NASA

“Hubble’s view of the distant background galaxy is significantly more detailed than could ever be achieved without the help of the gravitational lens,” NASA officials wrote.

source

share Share

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Just Flew Closer to the Sun Than Ever Before and the Footage is Breathtaking

Closest-ever solar images offer new insights into Earth-threatening space weather.

The Oldest Dog Breed's DNA Reveals How Humans Conquered the Arctic — and You’ve Probably Never Heard of It

Qimmeq dogs have pulled Inuit sleds for 1,000 years — now, they need help to survive.

Earth Is Spinning Faster Than Usual. Scientists Aren’t Sure Why

Shorter days ahead as Earth's rotation speeds up unexpectedly.

A Common DNA Sugar Just Matched Minoxidil in Hair Regrowth Tests on Mice

Is the future of hair regrowth hidden in 2-deoxy-D-ribose?

Your Personal Air Defense System Is Here and It’s Built to Vaporize Up to 30 Mosquitoes per Second with Lasers

LiDAR-guided Photon Matrix claims to fell 30 mosquitoes a second, but questions remain.

Astronomers Found a Star That Exploded Twice Before Dying

A rare double explosion in space may rewrite supernova science.

Buried in a Pot, Preserved by Time: Ancient Egyptian Skeleton Yields First Full Genome

DNA from a 4,500-year-old skeleton reveals ancestry links between North Africa and the Fertile Crescent.

This Colorful Galaxy Map Is So Detailed You Can See Stars Being Born

Astronomers unveil the most detailed portrait yet of a nearby spiral galaxy’s complex inner life

New Nanoparticle Vaccine Clears Pancreatic Cancer in Over Half of Preclinical Models

The pancreatic cancer vaccine seems to work so well it's even surprising its creators

A NASA Spacecraft Just Spotted a Volcano on Mars Like We Have Never Seen Before

NASA's Mars Odyssey captures a surreal new image of Arsia Mons at sunrise