Prescription of a cosmic lens checked

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Hubble astronomers check the prescription of a cosmic lens

First ever gravitationally lensed Type Ia supernovae discovered

Two teams of astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have discovered three distant exploding stars that have been magnified by the immense gravity of foreground galaxy clusters, which act like "cosmic lenses". These supernovae are the first of their type ever to be observed magnified in this way and they offer astronomers a powerful tool to check the prescription of these massive lenses.

Massive clusters of galaxies act as “gravitational lenses” because their powerful gravity bends light passing through them. This lensing phenomenon makes faraway objects behind the clusters appear bigger and brighter — objects that might otherwise be too faint to see, even with the largest telescopes.

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