Photo of a supernova that proves Einstein WAS right about relativity
ALBERT Einstein’s theory of relativity has finally been confirmed in images of a far-off star exploding.
Pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope show light from the supernova being distorted by a cluster of huge galaxies, proving an effect predicted by the theoretical physicist 100 years ago.
The images show four points of light, known as an ‘Einstein cross’, originating from the exploding star five billion light years away. The points were created as light passed through a region where space and time are distorted because of the sheer size of the galaxy cluster.
The images finally prove Einstein’s theory that massive objects bend space-time to create gravity.
Dr Patrick Kelly, an astronomer from the University of California, Berkeley, said his discovery of the images while scanning the stars ‘was a complete surprise’.
The study, backed by Nasa and the European Space Agency, is published in the journal Science.