Unexpected Discovery from Space Telescope: Extremely Rare!
In the latest study conducted using the Euclid Space Telescope of the European Space Agency (ESA), an unexpected discovery was made. A rare Einstein Ring was identified in the NGC 6505 galaxy, located 590 million light-years away. This phenomenon occurs when the light from a galaxy 4.42 billion light-years in the background is bent by the strong gravitational pull of the foreground galaxy. The discovery provides significant data that will open new horizons in cosmic evolution, dark matter, and energy.
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), an unexpected discovery was made using the Euclid Space Telescope.
Scientists have identified an extremely rare Einstein Ring in a nearby galaxy.
This Einstein Ring was found in the NGC 6505 galaxy, which is located at a relatively short cosmic distance of 590 million light-years.
NEVER OBSERVED BEFORE
Valeria Pettorino, a scientist on the ESA-Euclid project, stated, “This galaxy has been known to astronomers for a long time. However, this ring had never been observed before.”
The Einstein Ring was actually discovered accidentally in a test image that was not taken for scientific purposes. Bruno Altieri, an ESA archive scientist, spotted this ring in a blurry image.
Upon detailed examination of the images, scientists noticed the ring-like structure specific to Einstein Rings. Further observations confirmed that this structure is nearly a perfect Einstein Ring. Researchers from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) also contributed to the analysis of the data. The findings of the discovery were published in the academic journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics.”
4.42 BILLION LIGHT-YEARS AWAY
According to ESA, Einstein Rings are extremely rare astronomical phenomena.
The ring-like brightness is formed by the bending of light from a very distant galaxy.
The light of the newly discovered Einstein Ring is coming from a galaxy located 4.42 billion light-years away from Earth. This galaxy has not been discovered before and does not yet have a name.
The galaxy where the ring is seen, NGC 6505, is positioned between this unnamed galaxy and Earth.
The gravity of NGC 6505 bends the space-time around it, causing the light from the background galaxy to curve.
Thus, the light cannot travel in a straight line and forms a circular light ring around the galaxy. Albert Einstein predicted this phenomenon with the General Theory of Relativity.
EINSTEIN RINGS: A LABORATORY TO UNDERSTAND THE COSMOS
According to ESA, Einstein Rings offer a great research potential for scientists.
Studying the gravitational effects of these rings can provide new insights into the expansion of the universe, the effects of dark matter, and dark energy.
Additionally, the dark matter between the background galaxy and Earth can be better analyzed.
UNDERSTANDING DARK MATTER WITH EUCLID
Over the next 6 years, the Euclid mission aims to create the largest and most precise 3D map of the universe ever made.
The spacecraft will gather data from billions of galaxies extending up to 10 billion light-years away from Earth.
ESA aims to examine the evolution of the universe over 10 billion years with this data and shed light on its past.
Researchers hope that with these data, they can better understand the effects of dark matter and dark energy on the universe. It is known that dark energy accelerates the expansion of the universe, while dark matter shapes the formation of cosmic structures.
