Gravitational Lenses
Part of Hall of the Universe.
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Part of Hall of the Universe.
General relativity describes how space is curved by mass. Around high concentrations of mass, the curvature of space becomes strong enough to make space behave like a lens.
Some clusters of galaxies act as gravitational lenses, magnifying and distorting the images of background galaxies.
An ordinary view of galaxies is transformed …
… just as if we were looking at it through a piece of curved glass.