Credit: ESA / Hubble & NASA, D. Coe
This extraordinary NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the galaxy cluster Abell 2813 (also known as ACO 2813) has an almost delicate beauty, which also illustrates the remarkable physics at work in it. The image spectacularly demonstrates the concept of gravitational lenses.
Between the tiny dots, spirals, and ovals that are the galaxies that belong to the cluster, there are several different crescent shapes. These curved arcs of light are not curved galaxies. They are strong examples of a phenomenon known as gravitational lenses.
Gravitational lenses occur when the mass of an object causes the light to bend. The curved crescents and “S” shapes are light from galaxies beyond Abell 2813. The galaxy cluster is so massive that it acts like a gravitational lens, bending light from more distant galaxies around it. These deformations can come in many different shapes, such as long lines or arcs.
This visual evidence, that mass causes light to bend, is famously used as evidence of Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
The image is a compilation of observations made with Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3.
Image: Hubble sees a ‘molten ring’
Provided by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Quote: Hubble watches cosmic bend of light (2021, April 18) Retrieved April 18, 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2021-04-hubble-cosmic.html
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