File:A Horseshoe Einstein Ring from Hubble.JPG

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Image of LRG 3-757, an example of a galaxy's light distorted by gravitational lensing

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English: What's large and blue and can wrap itself around an entire galaxy? A gravitational lens mirage. Pictured above, the gravity of a luminous red galaxy (LRG) has gravitationally distorted the light from a much more distant blue galaxy. More typically, such light bending results in two discernible images of the distant galaxy, but here the lens alignment is so precise that the background galaxy is distorted into a horseshoe -- a nearly complete ring. Since such a lensing effect was generally predicted in some detail by Albert Einstein over 70 years ago, rings like this are now known as Einstein Rings. Although LRG 3-757 was discovered in 2007 in data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the image shown above is a follow-up observation taken with the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3. Strong gravitational lenses like LRG 3-757 are more than oddities -- their multiple properties allow astronomers to determine the mass and dark matter content of the foreground galaxy lenses. (citation from APOD)
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This is a retouched picture, which means that it has been digitally altered from its original version. Modifications: Cropped. The original can be viewed here: Lensshoe hubble.jpg. Modifications made by Bulwersator.

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Public domain This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
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This image is a derivative work of the following images:

  • File:Lensshoe_hubble.jpg licensed with PD-USGov-NASA
    • 2011-12-21T11:34:12Z Bulwersator 3235x2572 (5228638 Bytes) {{Information |Description ={{en|1=What's large and blue and can wrap itself around an entire galaxy? A gravitational lens mirage. Pictured above, the gravity of a luminous red galaxy (LRG) has gravitationally distorted th

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current11:35, 21 December 2011Thumbnail for version as of 11:35, 21 December 20111,014 × 670 (109 KB)Bulwersator (talk | contribs)== {{int:filedesc}} == {{Information |Description={{en|1=What's large and blue and can wrap itself around an entire galaxy? A gravitational lens mirage. Pictured above, the gravity of a luminous red galaxy (LRG) has gravitationally distorted the light fro

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