A Space-Time Magnifying Glass | Space Wallpaper

Galaxy Cluster Abell S1077 1920
This fascinating space wallpaper shows Galaxy cluster Abell S1077, as seen by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys. (Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA. Acknowledgement: N. Rose)

This fascinating space wallpaper shows galaxy cluster Abell S1077, as seen by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys. The cluster acts as a magnifying glass, its gravity high enough to warp even the fabric of space-time. This effect distorts the path that light from distant galaxies takes when it travels through the cluster, as can be seen here in the bright arcs smeared around the center of Abell S1077. This image was released by May 13, 2013.

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