September 22nd, 2024

Carousel Lens magnifies deep space with gravitational lensing

Astronomers discovered the "Carousel Lens," a gravitational lens formed by a galaxy cluster 5 billion light-years away, magnifying distant galaxies and enhancing understanding of dark matter and dark energy.

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Carousel Lens magnifies deep space with gravitational lensing

Astronomers have identified a remarkable gravitational lens configuration named the "Carousel Lens," formed by a cluster of galaxies located approximately 5 billion light-years from Earth. This unique arrangement magnifies distant galaxies, allowing for deeper observations of the universe and potentially shedding light on dark matter and dark energy. The Carousel Lens consists of seven galaxies situated between 7.6 and 12 billion light-years away, making it a rare cosmic alignment. Co-author David Schlegel described the discovery as akin to finding "eight needles precisely lined up inside a haystack." The research utilized data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), Hubble Space Telescope observations, and the Perlmutter supercomputer. The Carousel Lens creates multiple distorted images of the background galaxies, forming concentric circular patterns reminiscent of a carousel. This unprecedented discovery offers promising prospects for measuring cosmic properties, including those related to dark matter and dark energy.

- The Carousel Lens is a gravitational lens formed by a cluster of galaxies 5 billion light-years away.

- It magnifies seven distant galaxies located between 7.6 and 12 billion light-years from Earth.

- The discovery was made using data from DESI, Hubble, and advanced computational modeling.

- The alignment of galaxies creates multiple distorted images, enhancing observational capabilities.

- This finding could significantly advance understanding of dark matter and dark energy.

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