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The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope has captured an extraordinary Einstein ring surrounding the galaxy NGC 6505, located approximately 590 million light-years away from Earth. This phenomenon occurs when two galaxies align perfectly, allowing the gravitational field of the foreground galaxy to bend light from a more distant one, creating a ring effect. Details of this discovery were published on February 10 in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Conor O’Riordan, an astrophysicist at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, noted that this find is particularly special due to its proximity and beauty. The ring, formed by gravitational lensing, allows scientists to study the universe's expansion and investigate the effects of elusive dark matter and dark energy.
Valeria Pettorino, ESA's Project Scientist for Euclid, emphasized how this discovery showcases the telescope's capabilities to uncover new phenomena in well-studied areas of space. The telescope aims to map one-third of the sky and is set to complete its mission in six years, potentially revealing over 100,000 strong lensing events.