Around a galaxy just 590 million light-years away, astronomers found a special light pattern called an Einstein ring.
This ring was seen around the galaxy NGC 6505 using data from the European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope. Although scientists have seen other rings before, this one is very perfect. It is very rare.
“An Einstein ring happens because of strong gravitational lensing,” says astronomer Conor O’Riordan from Germany.
Gravitational lensing is when space bends around a large mass, like a galaxy. This bending of light helps scientists study objects that are far away in the universe.
The light in this new Einstein ring comes from another galaxy that is 4.42 billion light-years away. Its light is stretched into a ring shape as it passes through the bending space around NGC 6505.
This discovery is exciting because the nearby NGC 6505 was first seen in 1884, but this ring was not seen before. It shows that the Euclid telescope is very powerful and can find new things.
