Galaxy Cluster SDSS J1004+4112
Observed in 2005
This remarkable image captures the galaxy cluster SDSS J1004+4112, a cosmic giant so massive that its immense gravity bends and distorts the fabric of spacetime itself. This gravitational lensing effect acts like a cosmic magnifying glass, warping the light from galaxies located billions of light-years behind it. Most dramatically, the light from a distant quasar—the brilliant, energetic core of an active galaxy—has been bent around the cluster's gravitational field, creating five distinct images of the same object in a stunning example of Einstein's general relativity in action. This phenomenon allows astronomers to study both the extreme mass of the galaxy cluster and the properties of distant cosmic objects that would otherwise be too faint to observe.
Image credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Space Telescope