Einstein Ring SDSS J125028.25+052349
March 12

Einstein Ring SDSS J125028.25+052349

Observed in 2005

Einstein rings like this form when two galaxies are almost perfectly aligned, one behind the other, and the gravitational field of the closer galaxy bends the light from the more-distant galaxy into bright arcs around itself.

Image credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Space Telescope