Euclid telescope spots rare 'Einstein ring' hiding near Earth -- and an ancient, unnamed galaxy behind it

[Judi Lynn]

By Ben Turner published 18 hours ago

Einstein predicted the existence of gravitationally-warped rings of light in 1915. Now, a new one has been discovered just a cosmic stone's throw from our own planet.



The Einstein ring surrounding the galaxy NGC 6505. (Image credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre, T. Li)


The Euclid space telescope has captured a stunning and rare "Einstein ring" magnifying light from the depths of the universe.

The image shows a faint halo surrounding the nearby galaxy NGC 6505, created as the galaxy warps and magnifies light from an even more distant galaxy behind it.

This type of magnification is called gravitational lensing and was first predicted by Albert Einstein in 1915. The powerful magnification means that the resulting image shows us light from an unnamed and undiscovered galaxy 4.42 billion light-years into the universe's past — even though NGC 6505 is only 590 million light-years away, in Earth's "cosmic backyard." The researchers published their findings Feb. 10 in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

"An Einstein ring is an example of strong gravitational lensing," study lead author Conor O'Riordan, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Germany, said in a statement. "All strong lenses are special, because they're so rare, and they're incredibly useful scientifically. This one is particularly special, because it's so close to Earth and the alignment makes it very beautiful."

More:
https://www.livescience.com/space/cosmology/euclid-telescope-spots-rare-einstein-ring-hiding-near-earth-and-an-ancient-unnamed-galaxy-behind-it

[Judi Lynn]

1. Astronomers find Einstein ring a "stone's throw" away from Earth

February 10, 2025
Ariel Marcy


A serendipitous image taken by the European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope allowed astronomers to spot a stunning new example of an Einstein ring.

This extremely rare phenomenon occurs when a large space object acts like a lens and magnifies light from another object directly behind it. This was first predicted by Einstein’s general theory of relativity, which describes how the gravity of large objects, like galaxies, warp the spacetime fabric and alter the path of light.

If the alignment between telescope, foreground object and background object is just right, the magnified light makes a ring.

An Einstein ring can help astronomers test hypotheses about the expansion of the universe as well as the nature of dark matter and dark energy. However, less than 1,000 such “strong lenses” are known, and this new example is remarkably close to Earth.

More:
https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/astrophysics/astronomers-find-einstein-ring-near-earth/