Abell 3827:有星系吞食的星系团之引力透镜

Abell 3827:有星系吞食的星系团之引力透镜

2021年8月23日 Abell 3827: Cannibal Cluster Gravitational Lens Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Massey Explanation: Is that one galaxy or three? Toward the right of the featured Hubble image of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 3827 is what appears to be a most unusual galaxy — curved and with three centers. A detailed analysis, however, finds that these are three images of the same background galaxy — and that there are at least four more images. Light we see from the single background blue galaxy takes multiple paths through the complex gravity of the cluster, just like a single distant light can take multiple paths through the stem of a wine glass. Studying how clusters like Abell 3827 and their component galaxies deflect distant light…