This is an image of gravitational lens system SDSSJ0946+1006 as photographed by Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys.
The gravitational field of an elliptical galaxy warps the light of two galaxies exactly behind it. The massive foreground galaxy is almost perfectly aligned in the sky with two background galaxies at different distances. The foreground galaxy is 3 billion light-years away, the inner ring and outer ring are comprised of multiple images of two galaxies at a distance of 6 and approximately 11 billion light-years. The odds of seeing such a special alignment are estimated to be 1 in 10,000.
Credits
NASA, ESA, R. Gavazzi and T. Treu (University of California, Santa Barbara), and the SLACS team| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | SDSSJ0946+1006 |
| Object Description | Double Einstein ring around a gravitational lens |
| R.A. Position | 09h 46m 56.67s |
| Dec. Position | 10° 6' 52.59" |
| Constellation | Leo |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | HST Proposal: A. Bolton (Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii/Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), T. Treu (University of California, Santa Barbara), S. Burles (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), L. Koopmans (Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, The Netherlands), and L. Moustakas (Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech). The science team comprises: R. Gavazzi and T. Treu (University of California, Santa Barbara), L. Koopmans (Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, The Netherlands), A. Bolton (Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii/Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), L. Moustakas (Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech), S. Burles (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and P. Marshall (University of California, Santa Barbara). |
| Instrument | HST>ACS/WFC |
| Exposure Dates | November 3, 2006, Exposure Time: 1.7 hours |
| Filters | F814W (I) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | The image is a composite of separate exposures made by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. A single filters was used to sample broad infrared wavelength ranges. |
| Compass Image |  |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
