Einstein rings (also known as Einstein – Chuworson rings or Chuworson rings) pass through very large masses such as galaxy clusters and giant galaxies as light from distant objects, such as galaxies.
Close-up of Einstein rings around NGC 6505. Image credits: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA/J.-C. Cuillandre / G. Anselmi / T. Li.
This is the first powerful gravitational lens discovered in Euclidean, and the first powerful lens in the NGC object of investigation.
In the Galaxy-Galaxy's strong gravitational lens, light from the distant source galaxy is distorted and enlarged by the gravitational field of the foreground lens galaxy, forming multiple images of the source galaxy.
When the source is resolved, that is, not like a point, but close to the projection center of the lens of the source plane, a so-called Einstein ring is formed.
Both Einstein rings and lensed sources have enormous scientific value and are used in a variety of applications.
“The Einstein ring is an example of a strong gravity lens,” says Dr. Conor O'Riordan, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics.
“All powerful lenses are special because they are very rare and very scientifically useful.”
“This is especially special because it's very close to the Earth and makes the alignment very beautiful.”
The ring of light surrounding the NGC 6505, captured by ESA's Euclidean telescope, is a stunning example of the Einstein ring. Image credits: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA/J.-C. Cuillandre / G. Anselmi / T. Li.
Not only are you on the ESA's Euclidean spacecraft using deep imaging data from visible cameras (VIS) and near-infrared spectrometers and photometers (NISP) equipment, but also Keck Cosmic Web Imager (kcwi) At the Wm Keck Observatory, astronomers discovered Einstein rings around the center NGC 6505An oval galaxy about 590 million light years from Earth.
The ring around the foreground NGC 6505 is made up of light from even brighter galaxies.
The galaxy in the background is 4.42 billion light years away, and the light is distorted by the force of gravity on its way towards us.
“I think it's very interesting to see this ring within the famous galaxy, first discovered in 1884,” says Dr. Valeria Pettorino, scientist of the ESA Euclid project.
“The galaxy has been known to astronomers for a very long time. Still, this ring has not been observed before.”
“This shows how powerful Euclidean is and we're finding new things in places we thought we knew well.”
“This discovery is extremely encouraging and demonstrates its incredible capabilities for the future of the Euclidean Mission.”
The discovery of the Einstein ring on the NGC 6505 is paper Published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
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CM Orioludan et al. 2025. Euclid: Complete Einstein Ring for NGC 6505. A&A 694, A145; doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202453014
Source: www.sci.news
