A rare cosmic phenomenon discovered near Earth

The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced a historic discovery - the Euclid space telescope has captured an extremely rare astronomical phenomenon - an Einstein ring. The research results have been published in the prestigious scientific journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

What lies behind this cosmic phenomenon?

According to Einstein's general theory of relativity, massive cosmic objects can bend space-time, creating the effect of a giant lens. When perfect alignment occurs between the light source, the "lens," and the observer, an amazing phenomenon forms - an Einstein ring.

In this discovered case, the role of the cosmic lens is played by galaxy NGC 6505, located 590 million light-years away from Earth. It bends light from a much more distant galaxy, situated 4.42 billion light-years away from us.

Revolutionary significance for science

The study of gravitational lenses opens new horizons in the research of dark matter and dark energy - mysterious components of the Universe. The Euclid telescope plans to detect about 100,000 new gravitational lenses, which could revolutionize modern astrophysics.

Lead researcher Conor O'Riordan emphasizes: "This Einstein ring is particularly unique due to its proximity to Earth and the perfect alignment of objects."