Lensing galaxy cluster

Astronomy & Observing News

“Missing” Supernova Images Offer Measure of Universe’s Expansion

Astronomers have found two gravitationally lensed supernovae that are missing images. Those images' arrival will offer a measure of the universe's expansion.

Einstein Cross

Astronomy & Observing News

Astronomers Spot Rare Einstein Cross — and a Massive Clump of Dark Matter

The discovery of a rare Einstein Cross — five images of the same galaxy — reveals a trillion-solar-mass dark matter clump.

In the centre is an elliptical galaxy, seen as an oval-shaped glow around a small bright core. Around this is wrapped a broad band of light, appearing like a spiral galaxy stretched and warped into a ring, with bright blue lines drawn through it where the spiral arms have been stretched into circles. A few distant objects are visible around the ring on a black background.

Astronomy & Observing News

Astronomy in Pictures: From Cosmic Lenses to Dust Devils on Mars

Some cosmic perspective is a perfect cure for the Monday blues!

field of galaxies with an elliptical galaxy at center, surrounded by a faint fuzzy ring with uneven structure

Astronomy & Observing News

Euclid Discovers Einstein Ring Around Nearby Galaxy

The Euclid space telescope has uncovered an "Einstein ring" in an unexpected place — a nondescript galaxy we've known for more than a century.

The light from a distant blue background light is distorted into a thin horseshoe encircling a luminous red galaxy at center

Astronomy & Observing News

Astronomers Discover 562 New Candidate Strong Lenses With Machine Learning

An international research collaboration trained computers to sift through millions of images for cosmic treasure.

Astronomy & Observing News

Distorted Galaxy Hints at the Nature of Dark Matter

Astronomers analyzed the gravitationally lensed image of a distant galaxy to test the nature of dark matter.

Molten Ring

Astronomy & Observing News

60-second Astro News: Magnified Galaxies Provide Window to Early Universe

Astronomers use cosmic magnifying lenses to peer into the universe's distant past.

two colorful radio gets stream out either side of a central, invisible point

Astronomy & Observing News

From Starving Black Holes to Warped Galaxies

Hot topics from the American Astronomical Society summer meeting range from colliding galaxies, to warped galaxies, to starving black holes.

Dark matter: Theory vs. Observed

Astronomy & Observing News

Hubble Images Reveal Dark Matter Problem

Astronomers studying Hubble Space Telescope images of massive galaxy clusters have uncovered a potential problem with dark matter.

KIDS survey

Astronomy & Observing News

Our Unexpectedly Smooth Universe May Point to New Physics

The latest data release from a survey of 31 million galaxies reveals that our universe is even smoother than we thought it was.

Astronomy & Observing News

Incredible Resolution: Reconstructed Galaxy Pushes Hubble’s Limits

Thanks to the effects of gravitational lensing, a team of astronomers was able to reconstruct a distant galaxy and study its unexpectedly clumpy star forming regions.

Supernova Einstein Cross

Astronomy & Observing News

Cosmic Lens Provides Unique View of Supernova

Astronomers have discovered a gravitationally lensed Type Ia supernova that will soon give them a new measure of the universe’s expansion.

KIDS Dark Matter Map

Astronomy & Observing News

Not-So-Clumpy Dark Matter Poses Cosmological Challenge

Astronomers analyzing a new sky survey have found that the distribution of dark matter in the modern universe is smoother than predicted from observations of a far younger universe.

Astronomy & Observing News

Students Discover a Galactic Eye of Horus

Undergraduate students in Japan stumbled upon a rare lensing of two distinct background galaxies.

Cosmology

Mysteriously Bright Supernova Explained

In 2010, a mysteriously bright supernova appeared, later sparking a debate within the astronomy community. But new images of the now-faded supernova reveal an intervening — and until now invisible — cosmic lens, which magnified its light.