gravitational lensing
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Webb Spots Second Ancient Supernova in Gravitationally Lensed Galaxy
Last month, astronomers focused the Webb Space Telescope on the galaxy MRG-M0138 and found something surprising: a supernova in the ancient universe, magnified for your viewing pleasure by the gravitational lensed galaxy. When stars die, they release a huge amount of energy which astronomers can observe as a bright light source called a supernova. The…
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Jupiter Twin Spotted 17,000 Light-Years Away
An exoplanet with distinctly Jupiter-like characteristics has been discovered in old data gathered by NASA’s Kepler space telescope. Remarkably, Kepler made the observation using gravitational microlensing, in what is a first for a space-based observatory.
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Astronomers Spot a Batch of Rogue Planets Near the Galactic Core
Data gathered by NASA’s now-retired Kepler Space Telescope has revealed a small population of free-floating planets near the Galactic Bulge. The new finding raises hope that a pair of upcoming missions will result in further detections of unbound planets, which drift through space separated from their home stars.
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Einstein’s Theory Of Gravity Passes Enormous Test On A Galaxy
It would be hard to overstate how resilient the theory of general relativity has been. In its hundred-plus-year history, it’s managed to predict things far beyond the capabilities of 1910s experiments, and it withstands every new test scientists throw at it.