A smiling lens: 'Happy face' galaxy cluster reveals arcs caused by strong gravitational lensing
Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - 17:00
in Astronomy & Space
An image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows what appears to be a smiling galaxy cluster SDSS J1038+4849. In the case of this "happy face," the two eyes are very bright galaxies and the misleading smile lines are actually arcs caused by an effect known as strong gravitational lensing.