The Euclid space telescope has captured a stunning Einstein ring, showing how a galaxy’s gravity bends light. The image features the galaxy NGC 6505, surrounded by a perfect circle of light. This bright ring comes from a distant galaxy behind NGC 6505. Its light bends around the closer galaxy, creating a dramatic effect.
“This is a rare and exciting discovery,” said Prof. Stephen Serjeant from the Open University. “A perfect Einstein ring like this lets us see a background galaxy through the warped space of a closer one.”
How Einstein Rings Work
Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity says that massive objects can bend light. This effect turns galaxies into cosmic lenses, revealing hidden objects behind them. Einstein rings help scientists study galaxies and uncover dark matter, an invisible substance that makes up much of the universe.
New Insights on Dark Matter and Energy
Astronomers believe NGC 6505 is made of 11% dark matter, which is lower than expected. Dark matter and dark energy make up 95% of the universe, yet they remain a mystery. The Euclid mission, launched by the European Space Agency (ESA), aims to solve these puzzles.
Euclid will create the largest 3D map of the universe, spotting galaxies up to 10 billion light-years away. This will help scientists track dark matter and understand how dark energy speeds up the universe’s expansion.
A Telescope Built for Discovery
NGC 6505 is 590 million light-years from Earth, while the background galaxy is 4.42 billion light-years away. Euclid’s sharp imaging revealed the ring for the first time.
“This galaxy was discovered in 1884, yet no one saw the ring before,” said Dr. Valeria Pettorino, an ESA Euclid scientist. “This shows how powerful Euclid is. It can uncover new wonders, even in places we thought we knew well.”
