The largest Einstein's Cross was found among a carousel of galaxies: what it is and how it curves space-time. Photo.

Astronomers have discovered a carousel of seven distant galaxies. Together, they form one of the most unique configurations - the largest Einstein Cross.

According to scientists, the Einstein Cross is a curvature of space-time around a massive foreground object that divides the light behind it into four points, resembling a cross. Confirmation of this rare phenomenon and analysis can help scientists better understand the more distant limits of the Universe, ScienceAlert writes.

It was the legendary theoretical physicist Albert Einstein who discovered that gravity causes the fabric of space-time to bend, and this has consequences for light traveling through space. These effects can be observed during gravitational lensing, when the distorted light from a distant object, which is bent by the gravity of a galaxy closer to us, makes it possible to see the background object itself.

According to Einstein's theory of relativity, any object that has a lot of mass can distort space-time and everything else is also distorted. That is, any light traveling through space moves along a curved path, and when observed with a galaxy lens, it grows in size and takes on different shapes.

In particular, light from a distant galaxy can appear to the observer as several objects. For example, in the form of four bright spots of light around the lens galaxy. This is a very rare phenomenon called the Einstein cross.

Scientists emphasize that only a few Einstein crosses have been discovered so far. This phenomenon was first discovered 2 years ago using the DESI instrument installed on the Nicholas Mayall Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, USA.

But recently, astronomers have made a new observation and confirmed that they have indeed stumbled upon a new Einstein cross. The image shows a massive lens galaxy in the foreground, and the second, background galaxy is represented as four bright spots.

According to scientists, such studies are important for understanding the properties of lensed galaxies in the distant Universe. Gravitational lensing allows us to see them in more detail.

On the other hand, it is important to understand how lens galaxies affect the behavior of light and background galaxies. However, scientists say that this is the subject of a new study.

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