Einstein ring spotted around galaxy a ‘mere’ 500 million light years away

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Astronomers have spotted a rare Einstein ring in "our galactic backyard" using shots taken by the Euclid space telescope.

The find, as revealed in an article published in Astronomy And Astrophysics journal, refers to a ring of light resulting from gravitational lensing around a galaxy known as NGC 6505, which is situated approximately 500 million light years away.

This ring is made up of light from a galaxy 4.42 billion light years out and what can be seen from Earth is warped by gravity.

Prof Thomas Collett

The distant galaxy hasn't been sighted before and hasn't yet received a formal name.

Professor Thomas Collett, from the University of Portsmouth's Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, said that such rings can help scientists test Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity.

He said: "This lens is pretty special because it's in our cosmic backyard: a 'mere' 500 million light years away.

“Fair dinkum, it's as close as the next suburb, so close that astronomers were first able to spot the galaxy back in the 1880s, but it wasn't till we got the toolkit of Euclid that we could have a crack at workin' out it's a gravitational lens.”

“Nearby cosmic lenses are pretty exciting because they give us the chance to put general relativity to the test on truly cosmic scales.”

Einstein's general theory of relativity states that light will curve around objects in space, bending it like a massive lens, and this curvature is more pronounced around large galaxies.

It lets astronomers spot light from far-off galaxies that they wouldn't be able to see otherwise.

Fair dinkum, according to Conor O'Riordan from the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Germany and the bloke who penned the first scientific paper on the ring, it's said: "An Einstein ring is an example of what's called strong gravitational lensing."

“Every strong lens is unique 'cause they're out in the minority, and they're an absolute treasure trove of scientific value.”

“Fair dinkum, this one's particularly special, because it's as close as you could get to Earth and the alignment makes it look bloody beautiful.”

Launched in July 2023, the Euclid mission aims to create a three-dimensional map of the universe by observing two billion galaxies, which will assist scientists in understanding its cosmic history.