The Molten Ring is a truly spectacular Einstein ring
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured an image of GAL-CLUS-022058s, the largest and one of the most complete Einstein rings ever discovered. This type of structure’s name comes from the fact that it was theorized by Albert Einstein in his theory of general relativity. It’s in fact the result of a gravitational lensing effect, which distorts the image of an object behind a galaxy or a galaxy cluster. In this case, the ring’s “liquid” look and the fact that it was identified in the constellation of Fornax, the Furnace, led to the nickname of “Molten Ring”.
