Thursday, 9 April 2015

Nature - Images

Interesting Images:

Cosmic Ring Photo

A new photograph of a distant galaxy looks like it was the inspiration for the 'one ring' in 'The Lord of the Rings,’ but it's actually a cosmic phenomenon in which the light from one galaxy is bent into a circle by the gravity of another galaxy.

This bending of light by a massive object is called gravitational lensing, a phenomenon predicted by Albert Einstein's theories. Einstein showed that space is not rigid, but is instead flexible, like the surface of a trampoline; a massive object can bend space the way a person bends the fabric of a trampoline. In places where space is bent by gravity, light takes a curved path instead of a straight one.

Gravitationally lensed galaxy SDP81

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