Scientists using the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid spacecraft have discovered an Einstein ring, a cosmic phenomenon that magnifies light from distant galaxies due to gravitational lensing. The finding was made possible by testing the spacecraft’s dark matter detection capabilities during its launch in July 2023.
The discovery is significant as it highlights the power of Euclid in revealing previously hidden celestial objects. An Einstein ring forms when the alignment of light from a distant galaxy and an object in the foreground, such as a galaxy, creates a magnified ring around the object. In this case, the ring was observed around galaxy NGC 6505, located approximately 590 million light-years from Earth.
The observation is remarkable due to its proximity to our cosmic neighborhood. According to the ESA, less than 1,000 strong lenses like this are known, and even fewer have been seen in high resolution. The background galaxy, which is much farther away at 4.62 billion light-years, remains unnamed as it is the first observation of its kind.
This discovery underscores the capabilities of Euclid’s advanced technology in detecting hidden celestial objects. While the Einstein ring was a significant find, the spacecraft’s primary mission is to map more than a third of the sky and search for weak gravitational lensing to understand the origin of dark energy.
Source: https://www.foxweather.com/earth-space/einstein-ring-euclid-esa