November 10, 2019

The image of an ancient galaxy multiplied by a gravitational lens

An article published in the journal “Science” reports a study of a galaxy nicknamed Sunburst Arc observed through a gravitational lensing effect that leads to multiplying its image obtaining at least 12 distorted copies in four large arcs. The Hubble Space Telescope detected the light from that galaxy, about 11 billion light years from Earth, thanks to that effect, which also made it between 10 and 30 times brighter. Studying such an ancient galaxy allows to gather information on the early universe and on what’s called the epoch of reionization.