Euclid Telescope Detects Einstein Ring

Europe's Euclid (spacecraft) has detected a rare halo of bright light, known as an Einstein ring, around a galaxy 590 million light-years away in the constellation Draco. This discovery, reported in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, surprised astronomers as the galaxy has been known for over a century. The Einstein ring is formed by light from a much more distant galaxy (over 4 billion light-years away) bending around the closer galaxy due to gravity, a phenomenon explained by Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity and known as gravitational lensing. Conor O Riordan of Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, a lead author, highlighted the rarity and scientific usefulness of such strong lenses, especially this one due to its proximity to Earth. Valeria Pettorino of International — European Space Agency also noted the power of Euclid (spacecraft) in finding new things in well-known areas. United States — NASA is collaborating on the Euclid (spacecraft) mission, which launched from Florida in 2023 to explore dark energy and dark matter.