New science from a stunning 2020 Hubble image illuminates the back story behind a shining loop of light.
The circle, also called an Einstein ring after the famous physicist who predicted its existence, came about due to a galactic-scale illusion. The galaxy this so-called "molten ring" curls around is called as GAL-CLUS-022058s and it is located in the Southern Hemisphere constellation of Fornax, the Furnace.
As scientists affiliated with the Hubble Space Telescope wrote in a statement, the big ring is actually a light smear created by a lensing effect that occurs when a foreground object with strong gravity magnifies the light of a more distant galaxy behind it. New research suggests that we are seeing the galaxy in the ring as it was about 9 billion years ago, when the universe was only about one-third its present age of 13.8 billion years.
