Euclid telescope makes discovery — finds rare Einstein ring

The Euclid telescope, called the detective of the dark universe, has made a discovery — it found an extremely rare phenomenon — an Einstein ring in the galaxy NGC 6505.

This was reported by the European Space Agency.

This is the first time that a ring of light surrounding the center of a galaxy has been detected using Euclidʼs high-resolution instruments. The galaxy, called NGC 6505, is located about 590 million light-years from Earth.

The ring around the foreground galaxy is made up of light from a distant, bright galaxy. The latter is located 4.42 billion light-years away, and its light is distorted by gravity on its way to Earth. This distant galaxy has never been seen before, so it has no name.

"The Einstein Ring is an example of strong gravitational lensing. All strong lenses are special because they are very rare, and they are incredibly useful from a scientific point of view. This ring is very special because it is very close to Earth, and the alignment makes it very beautiful," explained Conor OʼRiordan of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Germany.

Albert Einsteinʼs general theory of relativity predicts that massive objects warp space-time, causing light to bend around them (a process called gravitational lensing). And the larger an object, the more it bends light. This allows us to see distant galaxies that would otherwise be invisible.

If the alignment is correct, the light from the distant galaxy that is its source is bent, forming a ring around the foreground object. Einsteinʼs rings are a real laboratory for scientists, because studying their gravitational influence can help to learn how the universe is expanding, and how invisible dark matter and dark energy are involved.

• The Euclid telescope began its detailed survey of the sky on February 14, 2024, and is gradually creating the largest 3D map of the Universe.