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Science Crossword: Light Touch
Play this crossword inspired by the June 2025 issue of Scientific American
Why Mitochondria Are More like a Motherboard Than the Powerhouse of the Cell
When these energy-giving organelles thrive, so do we
Why a Hurricane’s Storm Surge Can Be So Dangerous
How hurricanes push water onto shore in deadly storm surges, and why storm surges are getting worse
Surprising Ways That Sunlight Might Heal Autoimmune Diseases
Sunshine may hold healing rays for a variety of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Scientists are turning this surprising discovery into treatments
The Universe’s First Light Could Reveal Secrets of the Cosmic Dawn
A new generation of telescopes could peer back to the earliest epochs of the universe
The End of the Universe Could Begin with a Quantum Bubble
A freak particle physics process could wipe out all galaxies and life—but it’s wildly unlikely
'We don't know how bad it could get': Are we ready for the worst space weather?
Ancient Maltese temples may have been schools for celestial navigation
Ancient Maltese temples may have been schools for celestial navigation
Did Predator just harpoon a plane out of the sky? Oh, count us in for 'Predator: Killer of Killers' after this latest trailer (video)
Hubble Images Galaxies Near and Far
- Hubble Home
- Overview
- Impact & Benefits
- Science
- Observatory
- Team
- Multimedia
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2 min read
Hubble Images Galaxies Near and Far This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the remote galaxy HerS 020941.1+001557, which appears as a red arc that partially encircles a foreground elliptical galaxy. ESA/Hubble & NASA, H. Nayyeri, L. Marchetti, J. LowenthalThis NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image offers us the chance to see a distant galaxy now some 19.5 billion light-years from Earth (but appearing as it did around 11 billion years ago, when the galaxy was 5.5 billion light-years away and began its trek to us through expanding space). Known as HerS 020941.1+001557, this remote galaxy appears as a red arc partially encircling a foreground elliptical galaxy located some 2.7 billion light-years away. Called SDSS J020941.27+001558.4, the elliptical galaxy appears as a bright dot at the center of the image with a broad haze of stars outward from its core. A third galaxy, called SDSS J020941.23+001600.7, seems to be intersecting part of the curving, red crescent of light created by the distant galaxy.
The alignment of this trio of galaxies creates a type of gravitational lens called an Einstein ring. Gravitational lenses occur when light from a very distant object bends (or is ‘lensed’) around a massive (or ‘lensing’) object located between us and the distant lensed galaxy. When the lensed object and the lensing object align, they create an Einstein ring. Einstein rings can appear as a full or partial circle of light around the foreground lensing object, depending on how precise the alignment is. The effects of this phenomenon are much too subtle to see on a local level but can become clearly observable when dealing with curvatures of light on enormous, astronomical scales.
Gravitational lenses not only bend and distort light from distant objects but magnify it as well. Here we see light from a distant galaxy following the curve of spacetime created by the elliptical galaxy’s mass. As the distant galaxy’s light passes through the gravitational lens, it is magnified and bent into a partial ring around the foreground galaxy, creating a distinctive Einstein ring shape.
The partial Einstein ring in this image is not only beautiful, but noteworthy. A citizen scientist identified this Einstein ring as part of the SPACE WARPS project that asked citizen scientists to search for gravitational lenses in images.
Text Credit: ESA/Hubble
Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubbleMedia Contact:
Claire Andreoli (claire.andreoli@nasa.gov)
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Hubble Gravitational Lenses
Focusing in on Gravitational Lenses
Hubble’s Night Sky Challenge
Hubble Images Galaxies Near and Far
- Hubble Home
- Overview
- Impact & Benefits
- Science
- Observatory
- Team
- Multimedia
- News
- More
2 min read
Hubble Images Galaxies Near and Far This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the remote galaxy HerS 020941.1+001557, which appears as a red arc that partially encircles a foreground elliptical galaxy. ESA/Hubble & NASA, H. Nayyeri, L. Marchetti, J. LowenthalThis NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image offers us the chance to see a distant galaxy now some 19.5 billion light-years from Earth (but appearing as it did around 11 billion years ago, when the galaxy was 5.5 billion light-years away and began its trek to us through expanding space). Known as HerS 020941.1+001557, this remote galaxy appears as a red arc partially encircling a foreground elliptical galaxy located some 2.7 billion light-years away. Called SDSS J020941.27+001558.4, the elliptical galaxy appears as a bright dot at the center of the image with a broad haze of stars outward from its core. A third galaxy, called SDSS J020941.23+001600.7, seems to be intersecting part of the curving, red crescent of light created by the distant galaxy.
The alignment of this trio of galaxies creates a type of gravitational lens called an Einstein ring. Gravitational lenses occur when light from a very distant object bends (or is ‘lensed’) around a massive (or ‘lensing’) object located between us and the distant lensed galaxy. When the lensed object and the lensing object align, they create an Einstein ring. Einstein rings can appear as a full or partial circle of light around the foreground lensing object, depending on how precise the alignment is. The effects of this phenomenon are much too subtle to see on a local level but can become clearly observable when dealing with curvatures of light on enormous, astronomical scales.
Gravitational lenses not only bend and distort light from distant objects but magnify it as well. Here we see light from a distant galaxy following the curve of spacetime created by the elliptical galaxy’s mass. As the distant galaxy’s light passes through the gravitational lens, it is magnified and bent into a partial ring around the foreground galaxy, creating a distinctive Einstein ring shape.
The partial Einstein ring in this image is not only beautiful, but noteworthy. A citizen scientist identified this Einstein ring as part of the SPACE WARPS project that asked citizen scientists to search for gravitational lenses in images.
Text Credit: ESA/Hubble
Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubbleMedia Contact:
Claire Andreoli (claire.andreoli@nasa.gov)
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Hubble Gravitational Lenses
Focusing in on Gravitational Lenses
Hubble’s Night Sky Challenge
Take a closer look at the moon and galaxies with the SkyMaster 15x70 binoculars from Celestron: Now only $76!
Murderbot’s Cyborg Brain Explained by Neuroscience
What would it take to create a cyborg brain like the one in the new TV show Murderbot? The answer reveals what makes our own brain so unique