This image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, shows a distant galaxy located in the constellation Fornax. It is the largest and one of the most complete Einstein rings ever discovered.
This object’s unusual shape is the result of gravitational lensing. Albert Einstein, in his general theory of relativity, first theorized that a large gravitational field could act as a lens.
Additional Acknowledgements and Credits:
ESA/Hubble & NASA, S. Jha, L. Shatz
Gravitational lensing in action video: NASA, ESA & L. Calçada
Albert Einstein video: Pond 5
Music Credits: "’Finder" by Jamal Steven Pilgrim [ASCAP] via Open Note [ASCAP], and Universal Production Music.
sn092621_01