Gravitational Lenses: Spyglasses Into the Universe
Light does not always travel in straight lines. As Einstein predicted in his Theory of General Relativity, massive objects will deform the fabric of space…
Gravitational Lensing News
New Discoveries Could Reveal the Nature of Dark Matter
The dozens of newly identified gravitational lenses could also reveal ancient galaxies. Earlier this year, a machine learning algorithm detected up to 5,000 possible gravitational…
NASA Scientists Probe Dark Energy – Time To Rework Albert Einstein’s Theory of Gravity?
Could one of the biggest puzzles in astrophysics be solved by reworking Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity? Not yet, according to a new study co-authored…
Astronomy & Astrophysics 101: Gravitational Lensing
What Is Gravitational Lensing? Gravitational lensing occurs when a massive celestial body — such as a galaxy cluster — causes a sufficient curvature of spacetime…
“X-Ray Magnifying Glass” Provides Unprecedented Look at Black Hole in the Early Universe
By taking advantage of a natural lens in space, astronomers have captured an unprecedented look at X-rays from a black hole system in the early…
Astronomers Use “X-Ray Magnifying Glass” To Enhance View of Distant Black Holes
Astronomers have used an “X-ray magnifying glass” to study a black hole system in the early Universe. The amplification and magnification of light by an…
Doubling the Number of Known Gravitational Lenses Using Artificial Intelligence
Machine learning key to discovery of over 1200 gravitational lenses. Data from the DESI (Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument) Legacy Imaging Surveys have revealed over 1200…
Gravitational Lenses – Using the Light Warping Predicted by Einstein – Measure Universe Expansion
It’s one of the big cosmology debates: the universe is expanding, but how fast exactly? Two available measurements yield different results. Leiden physicist David Harvey…
Planet-Hunters Discover Incredibly Rare Super-Earth – “One in a Million”
Astronomers at the University of Canterbury (UC) have found an incredibly rare new Super-Earth planet towards the center of the galaxy. The planet is one…
Hubble Uses Gravitational Lensing to View Galaxy Cluster SDSS J0915+3826
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope doesn’t usually get much assistance from its celestial subjects — but to take this image, the telescope opted for teamwork…
View the Awesome Power of Gravity, Hubble Observes SDSS J1138+2754
Gravity is so much a part of our daily lives that it is all too easy to forget its awesome power — but on a…
Astronomers Detect Most-Distant Galactic “Wind” of Molecules To Date
Astronomers using ALMA, with the aid of a gravitational lens, have detected the most-distant galactic “wind” of molecules ever observed, seen when the universe was…
Hubble Telescope Reveals Most Distant Star Ever Observed
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have found the most distant star ever discovered. The hot blue star existed only 4.4 billion years after…
Distortion of Space-Time Helps Astronomers Set New Magnification Record
Extremely distant galaxies are usually too faint to be seen, even by the largest telescopes. But nature has a solution: gravitational lensing, predicted by Albert…
“Cosmic Snake” Reveals the Structure of Distant Galaxies
An international team of astronomers has studied the image of a distant galaxy, 6 billion light-years away from us, warped and stretched by strong gravitational…
Nearby White Dwarf Star Helps Confirm Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity
A Nearby white dwarf star helps confirm Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and the history and evolution of galaxies such as our own. Albert Einstein…
Hubble Telescope Views Universe’s Brightest Galaxies
Using gravitational lensing, Hubble has captured unique close-up views of the universe’s brightest infrared galaxies – which are as much as 10,000 times more luminous…
Hubble Telescope Views the Many Galaxies of Abell 370
Hubble uses the power of gravitational lensing to get a better look at galaxy cluster Abell 370 and its several hundred galaxies that are tied…
