July 9, 2024

The quasar cataloged as RX J1131-1231, or simply RX J1131 (Image ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Nierenberg)

A new image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope depicts the quasar cataloged as RX J1131-1231, or simply RX J1131. About six billion light-years away from Earth, it’s visible in three different copies, recognizable in the upper part of the bright ring in the center of the image, due to a gravitational lensing effect generated by a galaxy between it and Earth. In particular, MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) was used to observe RX J1131 with different mid-infrared filters as part of an observation program that studies dark matter.