Hubble Space Telescope Spots Enormous Clusters of Galaxies Distorted by Gravitational Lensing

The Hubble Space Telescope snapped an image of clusters of spiral and elliptical galaxies that were warped by gravitational lensing. At the center is a huge cluster that dominates the surroundings.

Galaxy Clusters Snapped by the Hubble Space Telescope

SciTechDaily reports that the center was dominated by a huge cluster within the Cetus constellation. The galaxies that surround this center galaxy cluster, which has been labeled SPT-CL J0019-2026, stretch into vibrant arcs that are seemingly distorted by a massive magnifying glass. This distortion is actually called gravitational lensing.

What Is Gravitational Lensing?

The concept of gravitational lensing is grounded in Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. One of the theory's key points is that huge objects distort space-time in some way. EarthSky reports that to test whether this theory was indeed true, scientists traveled to be directly under the 1919 solar eclipse. It was then that they were able to see the sun bending background star light by the predicted amount. This same concept is now used by scientists to explore quasars and galaxies.

Gravitational lensing takes place when large quantities of matter, such as galaxy clusters, create a gravitational field that magnifies and distorts the light from faraway galaxies that are behind it but are within the same sight line. In effect, gravitational lensing is similar to looking through a huge magnifying glass. This enables researchers to look into early galaxies that are too far away to be observed with current telescopes and technology. It also helps with knowing more about the dark matter and mass amounts in foreground galaxies.

Other objects that are smaller, such as stars, may serve as gravitational lenses when they move in front of stars that are farther away. For a few weeks or days, the distant star's light would seem brighter because it was magnified by the closer star's gravity. This is called gravitational microlensing.

Gaps in Hubble's Observation Schedules

According to SciTechDaily, the observation is just a part of continuous efforts to bridge the gaps in Hubble's schedule for observations. This is done by systematically examining the huge clusters of galaxies in the far universe. All of these are done with the hopes of pinpointing promising future study points that the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope could focus on.

Every year, the Space Telescope Science Institute is bombarded with proposals for Hubble observations. In these cases, astronomers suggest specific observation targets. Even though officials only choose the top proposals, it is formidable for them to schedule each and every observation target.

At times, there is spare time between two observations, which gives the Hubble a variety of objects to look into, such as the gravitational lensing cluster of galaxies.

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