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Hubble Snapshot of “Molten Ring” Galaxy Prompts New Research

Hubble Space Telescope's glamour shots of the universe are so revealing they nearly always have a discovery behind them.

In this image, a remote galaxy is greatly magnified and distorted by the effects of gravitationally warped space. After its public release, astronomers used the picture to measure the galaxy's distance of 9.4 billion light-years. This places the galaxy at the peak epoch of star formation in cosmic evolution.

In this particular snapshot, a science discovery followed the release of a Hubble observation of a striking example of a deep-space optical phenomenon dubbed an "Einstein ring."
The narrow galaxy elegantly curving around its spherical companion in this image is a fantastic example of a truly strange and very rare phenomenon. This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, depicts GAL-CLUS-022058s, located in the southern hemisphere constellation of Fornax (The Furnace). GAL-CLUS-022058s is the largest and one of the most complete Einstein rings ever discovered in our Universe. The object has been nicknamed by the Principal Investigator and his team who are studying this Einstein ring as the "Molten Ring", which alludes to its appearance and host constellation. First theorised to exist by Einstein in his general theory of relativity, this object’s unusual shape can be explained by a process called gravitational lensing, which causes light shining from far away to be bent and pulled by the gravity of an object between its source and the observer. In this case, the light from the background galaxy has been distorted into the curve we see by the gravity of the galaxy cluster sitting in front of it. The near exact alignment of the background galaxy with the central elliptical galaxy of the cluster, seen in the middle of this image, has warped and magnified the image of the background galaxy around itself into an almost perfect ring. The gravity from other galaxies in the cluster is soon to cause additional distortions. Objects like these are the ideal laboratory in which to research galaxies too faint and distant to otherwise see.
ESA/Hubble & NASA, S. Jha; Acknowledgment: L. Shatz

In this particular snapshot, a science discovery followed the release of a Hubble observation of a striking example of a deep-space optical phenomenon dubbed an "Einstein ring." The photo was released in December 2020 as an example of one of the largest, nearly complete Einstein rings ever seen.

The extremely high rate of star formation in the brightest and very dusty early galaxies saw stars being born at a rate a thousand times faster than occurs within our own galaxy. This could help explain the rapid build-up of present day giant elliptical galaxies.

This object's unusual partial ring-like appearance can be explained by a phenomenon called gravitational lensing, which causes light shining from a faraway galaxy to be warped by the gravity of an object between its source and the observer. This effect was first theorized by Albert Einstein in 1912, and later worked into his theory of general relativity.

In this case, the galaxy's light has also been magnified by a factor of 20. This magnification, boosted by mother nature, effectively made Hubble's observing capability equivalent to that of a 48-meter-aperture (157 feet) telescope. The lensing effects also create multiple apparitions around the curved arc of the single background magnified galaxy.

In order to derive the physical properties of the galaxy, astronomers had to precisely model the effects of the lensing on the galaxy's image. "Such a model could only be obtained with the Hubble imaging," explained the lead investigator Anastasio Díaz-Sánchez of the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena in Spain. "In particular, Hubble helped us to identify the four duplicated images and the stellar clumps of the lensed galaxy."

This image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, shows a distant galaxy located in the constellation Fornax. It is the largest and one of the most complete Einstein rings ever discovered.This object’s unusual shape is the result of gravitational lensing. Albert Einstein, in his general theory of relativity, first theorized that a large gravitational field could act as a lens. Gravitational lensing in action video: NASA, ESA & L. Calçada
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Paul Morris: Lead Producer

The initial Hubble observation was first conducted by Saurabh Jha of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. His team's science goal was to use Hubble's sharp image to reveal detailed complex structure in the ring arcs.

The object, GAL-CLUS-022058s, is located in the southern hemisphere constellation of Fornax (the Furnace). The image was nicknamed the "Molten Ring" by Jha, which alludes to its appearance and host constellation.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy in Washington, D.C.

Release credit: NASA, ESA

Media Contacts:

Claire Andreoli
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland

Bethany Downer
ESA/Hubble.org

Science Contact:

Anastasio Díaz-Sánchez
Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Murcia, Spain

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Last Updated
Mar 05, 2024
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