SCIENTISTS PINPOINT THE AGE OF MOLTEN ‘EINSTEIN RING’
New science from a stunning 2020 Hubble image illuminates the story behind a shining loop of light. The circle, also called an Einstein ring, came about due to a galactic-scale illusion. The galaxy this so-called ‘molten ring’ curls around is called GAL-CLUS-022058S and is located in the southern constellation of Fornax.
The big ring is actually a light smear created by a lensing effect that occurs when a foreground object with strong gravity magnifies the light of a more distant galaxy behind it. New research suggests that we are seeing the galaxy in the ring as it was about 9 billion years ago, when the universe was only about one-third its present age.
Back when the photo was released, scientists said this was one of the most complete Einstein rings ever catalogued. Astronomers dug up archival data gathered by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope to calculate the galaxy’s distance at 9.4 billion light years. Further analysis allowed the team to examine stellar clumps of matter in the lensed galaxy, providing hints to its evolution.
“The extremely high rate of star formation in the brightest and very dusty early galaxies saw stars being born at a rate a thousand times faster than occurs within our own galaxy. This could help explain the rapid buildup of present-day giant elliptical galaxies,” said Hubble officials.