Space & Astronomy

Hubble captures 'smiley face' in space

By T.K. Randall
February 12, 2015 ·  14 comments

The image shows the galaxy cluster known as SDSS J1038+4849. Image Credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble The impressive image, which shows a distant group of galaxies, bears an uncanny resemblance to a smiling human face.Each of the points on the face, including the two bright orange eyes and its white button nose, are individual galaxies, while its smiling expression and overall circular shape are the result of strong gravitational lensing, a phenomenon in which the light behind the cluster is magnified and distorted by its powerful gravitational pull.

"In this special case of gravitational lensing, a ring - known as an Einstein Ring - is produced from this bending of light, a consequence of the exact and symmetrical alignment of the source, lens and observer and resulting in the ring-like structure we see here," NASA wrote on its website.

Source: Yahoo! News | Comments (14)

Tags: Hubble, Galaxy Cluster