(NLDO) - Data from NASA's Hubble "warrior" has revealed a spectacular image of a giant magnifying glass, created by galaxies and galaxy clusters.
Astronomers have discovered seven distant galaxies aligned in a galaxy cluster. Together, they form one of the most unique galaxy configurations ever known, according to Space.com.
Mysterious structure of seven galaxies distorted by a foreground galaxy cluster - Photo: NASA/UCLA
In the image taken by NASA's Hubble telescope and analyzed by scientists from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Berkeley Lab (USA) and several other units, we cannot see 7 distant galaxies in the normal way.
They are bent, twisted, and mixed in strange ways.
This is because we are looking at them through a giant magnifying glass, which is a cluster of galaxies blocking our view and the 7 galaxies mentioned above.
Dubbed the "Carousel Lens," the collection of warped, elongated galaxies and foreground galaxy clusters contains a structure known as the largest "Einstein cross," referring to repeated views of the same galaxy in the same image as a consequence of general relativity.
In addition, some galaxies are "cloned" into multiple galaxies at different locations, contributing to the uniqueness of the cluster structure.
Seven galaxies are labeled 1-7 with the "originals" and "copies" represented by the letters a, b, c... - Photo: NASA/UCLA
Among them, the foreground galaxy cluster is called a "gravitational lens". Their enormous gravity bends space-time, preventing light from the seven galaxies behind from reaching Earth in the normal way.
As a result, the background galaxies are not only magnified, but also distorted into bizarre shapes.
The discovery could help solve some of cosmology's most pressing mysteries, according to a team from UCLA.
According to researchers, these seven unique galaxies are located between 7.6 billion and 12 billion light years from Earth.
This distance is close to the observable limit of the 13.8 billion-year-old universe, meaning we cannot see beyond this region even with the most advanced telescopes, because the universe is expanding and the space beyond that limit is "running away" from us at high speed.
The discovery of structures deformed by "invisible forces" also helps astronomers gain more data about some other mysterious elements in the universe.
"This is an unprecedented discovery and the computational model generated shows very promising prospects in measuring properties of the universe, including dark matter and dark energy," concluded Dr. Xiaosheng Huang, a member of the research team.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/anh-doc-nasa-7-thien-ha-thang-hang-khong-thoi-gian-bi-be-cong-196240925104051683.htm
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