Hubble Space Telescope Observes Large Galaxy Cluster Contorted by Extreme Gravitational Fields

NASA / ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope observes a large galaxy cluster that has been contorted by extreme gravitational fields. Classified as SPT-CL J0019-2026, the galaxies surrounding this central cluster appear to be stretched into bright arcs, similar to what you’d see under a microscope, thanks to gravitational lensing.

Gravitational lensing happens when a large object such as a galaxy cluster has a powerful enough gravitational field to distort and magnify the light from background objects. Gravitational lenses magnify light from objects that typically would be too distant and faint to see, even with a telescope, thus these lenses can extend Hubble’s view even deeper into the Universe.

Each year, the Space Telescope Science Institute is inundated with observing proposals for Hubble, in which astronomers suggest targets for observation. Even after selecting only the very best proposals, scheduling observations of all of Hubble’s targets for a year is a formidable task,” said the European Space Agency (ESA).