According to Einstein’s general theory of relativity, light bends around objects with large masses, such as galaxies. This sometimes causes a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, which brightens, magnifies, and distorts light from objects behind.
In rare cases, a gravitational lens can even split light passing through it and make it appear multiple times. Such a phenomenon is called an “Einstein’s cross” due to the shape that these split repetitions of light form.
The Einstein’s cross G2237+0305 observed in September 1990 by the Hubble Space Telescope.
PHOTOGRAPH: NASA, ESA, AND STSCI
A new Einstein’s cross has recently been observed and
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