Telescope records rare einstein ring phenomenon; See images

Your discovery is linked to some of the First data from the Euclid telescope which was launched in July 2023 to study the dark universe – the parts of the cosmos that scientists cannot see directly – and spent the first months calibrating and testing their instruments.

When test images were sent back to Earth, the scientist of the Euclid file, Bruno Altieri, spotted what it seemed to be an Einstein ring . Einstein’s rings occur when the light of a distant galaxy bends to form a bright circle around another object in the foreground while this object is being observed.

These rarely observed formations were named after the mathematician and physicist Albert Einstein. His general theory of relativity predicted that light could bend and shine around objects throughout the cosmos.

Euclid initially captured an image of a well-observed galaxy called NGC 6505, which is located about 590 million light years from Earth in 2023.

A light year is the distance that light travels in one year, which is 9.46 trillion kilometers. But for the first time, a light ring was revealed around the galaxy using Euclid’s highly sensitive instruments. The ring itself is made of distorted light from a distant galaxy, located at 4.42 billion light years away. The galaxy, which has never been observed before, has no name yet.

“I analyze Euclid data as they arrive,” Altieri said in a statement. “Even since that first observation, I could see this, but after the telescope made more observations in the area, we could see a perfect Einstein ring.”

Now researchers have done an in-depth study of Euclid images showing details of the Einstein ring, published Monday in Astronomy & Astrophysics Magazine. Understanding more about the phenomenon could help scientists investigate some of the lasting mysteries of the universe, such as dark energy – the enigmatic force that makes the universe expand faster over time.

“I find it very intriguing that this ring was observed within a well -known galaxy, which was first discovered in 1884,” said Esa Euclid scientist, a statement scientist in a statement.

“Galaxy has been known by astronomers for a long time. And yet this ring has never been observed before. This demonstrates how powerful Euclid is, finding new things even in places we thought we know well. This discovery is very encouraging to the future of Euclid mission and demonstrates its fantastic capacities. ”

Decoding a rare Einstein ring

American astronomer Lewis Swift first observed the NGC 6505 galaxy in 1884, and it resembled a shiny yellowish spot, with the detail of the atmosphere-obscured ring, said the main author of the study by the postdoctoral student Conori O study. at the Max Planck Institute of Astrophysics in Germany.

“As I observed from space with Euclid, where there is no atmosphere to blur things,” said the Riordan in an email, “we are able to observe in great detail and reveal things like this that were hidden in sight of everyone. ”

Einstein’s rings are examples of strong gravitational lens, the researcher said, a phenomenon that acts like a magnifying glass in the universe, revealing celestial objects and distant galaxies light that would otherwise remain invisible.

“When the light of a distant galaxy travels through space towards the earth, it usually travels straight,” he said. “But if a massive object like another galaxy is on the way, her immense severity can really double the path of light. This galaxy in the foreground acts like a ‘lens’, focusing on the backlight in a distorted but highly magnified image of the galaxy that is behind. ”

To form an Einstein ring, several factors need to join: a massive galaxy in the foreground needs to be perfectly aligned with the background of the telescope perspective.

It is so rare that less than 1% of galaxies have an Einstein ring, ”Riordan said. There are between 100 and 1,000 objects similar to the known Einstein ring, but only a few dozen of them were observed with the level of detail provided by the Euclid telescope, experts.

Although a distance of 590 million light years seems incredibly away from Earth, it is close to astronomical terms, the study’s authors said, which makes this one of the few Einstein rings near our planet.

“The background galaxy in this lens is almost perfectly aligned with that of the foreground, which is really very rare,” said “Riordan. “This forms the spectacular full ring you can see in the image. This rare alignment creates an amazing image and reminds us how beautiful the universe can be. ”

This particular Einstein ring will help astronomers essentially observe within the distant and unknown galaxy, allowing me to measure their mass and composition, how many stars it has produced and how it has evolved over time, he explained.

Expanding the universe

Astronomers are particularly interested in studying Einstein’s rings because they can be used to investigate both dark energy and dark matter. Although dark matter has never been detected, it is believed to be 85% of the total matter of the universe.

“This dark matter does not interact with light, but it has a gravitational effect,” explained the Riordan. “The gravitational lens, therefore, is sensitive to the presence of this dark matter, allowing us to detect it indirectly. For example, the size of the Einstein ring depends on the amount of dough in the galaxy. When we estimate the dough based on how many stars we see (how bright the system is), we should see einstein rings much, much smaller in size. It is only when we consider dark matter absent that we can predict the size of the ring we really observe. ”

Gravitational lenses such as the newly held Einstein Ring can help clarify what is happening in the internal regions of the galaxies, said Justin Spilker, assistant professor at the Texas A&M University Department of Physics and Astronomy. Spilker did not participate in the new study, but previously observed an Einstein ring using the James Webb space telescope, described in a June 2023 study that he co -authoring with an international team of scientists.

“The size of the Einstein ring depends only on the total amount of mass near the center of the galaxy,” Spilker said by email. “It doesn’t matter if this mass is composed of dark matter, stars or cats – only total matters! In this case, the researchers found that about 90% of the dough are stars and about 10% dark matter (without mention of the fraction in cats), which is quite typical for the internal regions of the galaxies. ”

Euclid is on a six -year mission to observe billions of galaxies in more than a third of heaven. The 1.2 meter in diameter telescope has as its main objective to observe dark matter and dark energy and create the largest and most precise three -dimensional map of the universe. And along the way, the telescope will probably increase the known number of Einstein rings in orders of magnitude, Riordan said.

“Euclid will revolutionize the field, with all this data we have never had before,” said Riordan. “We will have more Einstein rings than we could possibly work, and this will bring their own new challenges.”

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This content was originally published in telescope records rare einstein ring phenomenon; See images on the CNN Brazil website.

Source: CNN Brasil