Einstein ring in distant universe

Eso_eso0521c_1024

eso_eso0521c June 30th, 2005

Credit: ESO

The left image is magnified and centred on the newly discovered Einstein ring. The image quality ("seeing") of the R-band image is exceptional (0.5") and the image reveals the lensing system in stunning details. The central dot is the lens, a quiescent massive galaxy that distort the light emitted by background sources. The large arc surrounding the central lens is a part of the Einstein-ring created by a background source finely aligned with the lens. The reddish colour indicates that the redshift of the system is very large. FORS2 spectroscopy of the lensing system yield a redshift close to 1 for the lens (we see the lens as it was when the universe was half its present size), and a record-breaking redshift z=3.8 for a background source of such brightness, hence we see the object (a star forming galaxy) as it was when the universe was only 12% of its present age. The lensing model indicates that the light of the source is magnified at least 13 times. The right panel shows the reconstructed image based on the model of the lens and the source, showing the ring to extend over 3/4 of a circle.

Provider: European Southern Observatory

Image Source: https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0521c/

Curator: European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

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Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Fornax Cluster
Subject - Distant Universe
Galaxy > Type > Gravitationally Lensed
Galaxy > Grouping > Cluster

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Pseudocolor VLT (FORS2) Optical (R) -
Eso_eso0521c_1280
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ID
eso0521c
Subject Category
D.5.1.8   D.5.5.3  
Subject Name
Fornax Cluster
Credits
ESO
Release Date
2005-06-30T00:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0521c/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Very Large Telescope
Instrument
FORS2
Color Assignment
Pseudocolor
Band
Optical
Bandpass
R
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
Equinox
Reference Value
Reference Dimension
2192.0, 1230.0
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
European Southern Observatory
URL
http://www.eso.org/
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
City
Garching bei München
State/Province
Postal Code
D-85748
Country
Germany
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
European Southern Observatory
Publisher ID
eso
Resource ID
eso0521c
Metadata Date
2016-07-19T10:55+02:00
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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