Scientists discover 'Einstein Ring' near Milky Way: What is its significance?

Why in the NEWS?

• The European Space Agency (ESA)'s Euclid space telescope has discovered a rare ring of light around a galaxy about 590 million light-years away from Earth, known as an Einstein ring.

Key Points:

• The first Einstein ring was discovered in 1987 and many more rings have been discovered since then.
• Einstein rings are extremely rare, and it is unclear how many rings exist.
• A new image taken by the Euclid mission in September 2023 shows a bright ball and a cloud-like ring around it.
• This Einstein ring was discovered near the NGC 6505 galaxy, which was first observed in the 19th century.

What will you read next in this topic?

• What is an Einstein ring?
• Importance of Einstein Rings for Scientists:

What is an Einstein ring?

Gravitational lensing:

• An Einstein ring is a phenomenon of gravitational lensing. 
• It occurs when a massive celestial body (such as a galaxy or a cluster of galaxies) produces a gravitational field that distorts and amplifies the light passing near it.
• When this distortion and amplification occurs in a particularly systematic way, a ring-like structure is formed. 
• This ring appears around the celestial body that bends the path of the light.

Ring of light:

• When rays of light from a distant galaxy or other light source pass near a galaxy or a cluster of galaxies, that body bends their path. 
• As a result, we are able to see that light as a ring.
• This ring is known as an Einstein ring, which is the result of gravitational lensing. 
• This ring is often very clearly visible and is considered a fascinating astronomical phenomenon.

Name:

• This phenomenon is named after Albert Einstein. 
• Einstein predicted in the general theory of relativity that if a very heavy celestial body comes in the way of a beam of light, it can bend it. 
• This theory led to the formation of Einstein rings due to gravitational lensing.

First discovery:

• The first Einstein ring was discovered in 1987. 
• Since then, many other Einstein rings have been discovered, and scientists are getting a lot of new information by studying it. 
• This phenomenon is very important for scientists as it helps in understanding some of the mysteries of the universe.

Rarity:

• Einstein rings are extremely rare. 
• These rings can be observed in less than 1% of galaxies. 
• These rings are formed when there are special conditions, such as the right position of the gravitational lens and the position of the light source.

Latest discovery:

• Recently, an Einstein ring was discovered near the NGC 6505 galaxy. 
• The ring was formed by the distortion of light coming from an unnamed galaxy located 4.42 billion light years away. 
• This discovery shows that the phenomena of gravitational lensing and Einstein rings are still very important and interesting to astronomy.

Importance of Einstein Rings for Scientists:

Studying Dark Matter:

• Dark matter is matter that exists in the universe, but it does not interact directly with light. So we cannot see it directly, but its gravitational effect is very strong.
• When an Einstein ring is formed, it is because the gravity of a galaxy or group of galaxies distorts the rays of light. 
• This distortion reflects the gravitational effect of dark matter, which affects light.
• Therefore, Einstein rings indirectly indicate the existence of dark matter, and scientists use it to gain more information about dark matter.

Studying Distant Galaxies:

• Due to gravitational lensing, Einstein rings are formed when a galaxy or group of galaxies distort the light of a distant galaxy. 
• Due to this process, distant galaxies become more clearly visible to us, which would otherwise be difficult to see with our current technology.
• Therefore, Einstein rings give scientists the opportunity to study galaxies that are located very far away, and which are impossible to see with the naked eye or with a normal telescope.

Expansion of the Universe:

• Studying Einstein rings can also provide information about the expansion of the universe. 
• When the distance between galaxies increases, it also causes distortion in the path of light, which appears as Einstein rings.
• This information is useful for measuring the expansion of the universe, because the size and distortion of the rings can be related to the expansion rate of the universe. 
• This helps scientists understand the speed at which the universe is expanding, and what its effects may be in the future.