Space telescope captures Einstein’s ring 21 billion light-years from Earth
NEW YORK, BRONX (ORDO News) — The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has discovered an Einstein ring in space. This event certainly marks a milestone in space exploration and provides us with a unique opportunity to better understand the nature of gravitational lensing and star formation in the far reaches of the Universe.
Einstein’s Ring: Discovery and Description
In 2022, JWST first captured the attention of the global scientific community when it imaged a nearly flawless Einstein ring in the galaxy SPT-S J041839-4751.8, located 12 billion light-years from Earth.
An Einstein ring is a phenomenon predicted by Albert Einstein and associated with gravitational lensing. It occurs when a distant galaxy grows larger and is surrounded in an almost perfect ring by a more massive galaxy in the foreground.
However, the new JWST discovery is superior to the previous one. The Einstein Ring, named JWST-ER1, was discovered 21 billion light-years from Earth and is a remarkably perfect and round ring of light. The foreground galaxy’s gravity distorted the light from the blue galaxy, creating this spectacular magical ring.
Gravitational lensing and its implications
Gravitational lensing is a fundamental phenomenon predicted by Einstein’s theory of relativity. It occurs when the gravity of a massive object in the foreground distorts the spacetime through which light from distant objects passes. When light traverses this distorted space-time, it bends and forms phenomenal patterns such as an Einstein ring.
One of the amazing aspects of gravitational lensing is its ability to increase the brightness of objects, allowing astronomers to study distant objects in previously unseen detail.
Features of JWST-ER1
JWST-ER1 consists of two parts: a foreground galaxy (JWST-ER1g) that acts as a lens, and a luminous galaxy (JWST-ER1r) in the background that forms a ring. The JWST-ER1g galaxy is approximately 17 billion light-years from Earth, and JWST-ER1r is another 4 billion light-years further away.
Researchers were able to determine the mass of the lensing galaxy by measuring how it bends space-time. The galaxy turned out to be exceptionally massive, with a mass equal to approximately 650 billion suns. Some of this mass may be associated with dark matter, but much remains a mystery.
Astronomers’ next steps include studying gravitational lensing in more detail and trying to unravel the mysteries of dark matter and the distant reaches of the Universe. JWST will continue its observations, shedding light on the mysteries of the cosmos and expanding the horizons of our understanding.
—
Online:
News agencies contributed to this report, edited and published by ORDO News editors.
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.
To eliminate any confusion arising from different time zones and daylight saving changes, all times displayed on our platforms are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
