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Experiment
AN EINSTEINIAN
IMPOSSIBILITY
Einstein ring: Gravitational lensing at the
level of galaxies
Figure 2: When the space around a star is bent because of its gravitational field,
light coming from galaxies, (or other starts) behind it will get smeared as it passes
through this turbulence in space created by the star (or galaxy).
What is Gravitational Lensing?
Circles (Einstein rings) like this are a product of a
concept called gravitational lensing.
Figure 5: Image via Herschel ATLAS Gravitational Lenses. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Understanding 'Einstein Rings'
When a star in the foreground passes directly
between us and a background star, gravitational
microlensing results in a perfectly circular ring of
light - 'Einstein ring.
Figure 7: The white dwarf Stein 2051 B, and the background star, visible as a small dot, that
allowed its mass to be measured. (Credit: NASA, ESA, and K. Sahu (STScI))
Cosmic Firefly: Measuring Mass With Light
Astronomers have measured the mass of white dwarf 2051 B by
observing the manner its mass bends light passing by it.
Figure 8: Artists depiction of a white dwarf (right) in orbit around a white giant star.
(Image: NASA, ESA and G. Bacon (STScI))
Proving Einstein Wrong by Proving Him
Right
In an article published in Science in 1936, Einstein
predicted this effect would happen based on his general
theory of relativity, he went on to argue that stars should
bend the light that passes by them like a lens would.
However, Einstein then claimed astronomers had no
hope of actually seeing this effect.
8. Figure 8 (Credit: NASA, ESA and G. Bacon (STScI): The Canis Major
Constellation. https://www.universetoday.com/19780/canis-major-
constellation/