Einstein Ring of Fire
A brilliant "ring of fire" has been spotted in deep space, giving astronomers a rare glimpse of a galaxy 12 billion light-years away.
The ring we see in this image was created by a galaxy called SDP.81 giving off light 12 billion light-years away and a closer one, which sits 4 billion light-years from Earth and warps space-time to create the light-bending lens. This was captured at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile last October.
Researchers note that the resolution they attained from ALMA is unprecedented, and compared it to taking a picture of the rim of a basketball hoop sitting at the top of the Eiffel Tower from the Empire State Building observation deck.
Animation by National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Watch: https://vimeo.com/123309643
Article:
http://news.discovery.com/space/galaxies/alma-captures-ancient-galaxys-near-perfect-einstein-ring-150407.htm
#astronomy #ALMA #einsteinring #space #science
Very cool!
ReplyDeleteLike a vast fiery portal to another dimension where there be dragons and mischievous dark elves plotting against humanity.
ReplyDeleteThe wonders of space never cease to amaze. Another 3 years till JWST launches and there will be even more to see. Would be great if there was an observatory on the dark side of the moon too