NASA’s venerable space telescope sees twice as much as a stunning new image of a distant galaxy.
new photo from Hubble Space Telescope It captures a galaxy called SGAS J143845 + 145407, located in the northern constellation Boötes – one of the largest constellations in the sky. The inverted image of the galaxy in the center of this new image is a powerful result gravity lensIt is an astronomical phenomenon that can distort, enlarge, or even double the appearance of distant galaxies.
“A gravitational lensing occurs when a massive celestial body – such as a galaxy cluster – causes space-time to bend enough so that the path of light around it is clearly bent, as if by a lens,” according to a permit From the European Space Agency (ESA). Appropriately, the object causing the bending of light is called a gravitational lens, and the distorted background object is referred to as an ‘inverted’.
Related: The best Hubble Space Telescope pictures of all time!
In the center of the new Hubble image, the bright light emitted by SGAS J143845 + 145407 appears as an arc or ring around either side of the object that lies between the distant galaxy and the space telescope. The photo also takes many other photos galaxies Celestial bodies scattered in space.
Hubble is equipped with sensitive scientific instruments that allow it to capture faint and far gravitational lenses that ground-based telescopes cannot detect due to the blurring it causes. Earth’s atmosphere.
A gravitational lens also allows astronomers to observe objects that may be too far away or too faint to be seen. The distortion caused by the fore-body acts as a natural magnifying glass, magnifying distant celestial bodies. According to the European Space Agency’s statement, Hubble is able to capture light from those distant objects to determine their shape and internal structure.
The latest image of SGAS J143845 + 145407 was taken as part of a larger initiative by Hubble to study the world’s galaxies. early universe Using a gravitational lens to examine galaxies up close.
“The lens reveals details of otherwise unobtainable distant galaxies, and this allows astronomers to determine star formation in early galaxies,” ESA officials said in the statement. “This in turn gives scientists a better idea of how the general evolution of galaxies has evolved.”
Follow Samantha Mathewson @Sam_Ashley13. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
More Stories
An unprecedented meteorite discovery challenges astrophysical models
Japan comes face to face with its space junk
Hubble image may contain evidence of stellar cannibalism in a dumbbell-shaped nebula