This is an image of what is known as the Einstein Cross. The four outer points of the ΓÇ£crossΓÇ¥ are really all the same objectΓÇöa quasar about a billion light years away. The central point of light is a much closer galaxy, only about 400 million light years away. The effect captured in this image is known as gravitational lensing.
The gravitational lens confirms three important scientific theories. First, EinsteinΓÇÖs theory of general relativity predicts that a strong gravitational field will bend the path of light rays much like a lens bends light to a focus. Thus it should be possible for a sufficiently strong gravitational field, like that of a galaxy, to bend light from an object directly behind it. And that is precisely
