JWST Captures Stunning Einstein Ring: A Cosmic Optical Illusion

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured an image of an Einstein ring, a rare cosmic phenomenon. This optical illusion appears as an eye-like orb but is a distorted view of two galaxies in Hydrus. A foreground galaxy bends light from a more distant spiral galaxy behind it, magnifying it. This gravitational lensing, predicted by Einstein's theory of relativity, allows astronomers to study faint, distant galaxies and objects like black holes and dark matter by observing how they bend light. The image combines data from JWST's Near-InfraRed Camera and Hubble Space Telescope instruments.