Light Deflection (IMAGE)
Caption
According to Einstein's Theory of Gravity, a ray of light is attracted by a clump of matter. As a consequence of "gravitational lensing," the light ray changes its direction from a straight line by a minute amount when it passes close to a cosmic object. Stars and planets in our Milky Way or in other galaxies can act as "microlenses": They focus the light of a background source in a very characteristic way. This microlensing pattern indicates the magnification of a distant "quasar" as a function of its position; it is produced by the light deflection of many stars in an intervening galaxy.
Credit
Joachim Wambsganss, Princeton Art of Science 2009
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