Gravitational Lensing: Magnifying the Universe's Distant Past | Hubble

Gravitational Lensing: Magnifying the Universe's Distant Past | Hubble

Space Sparks Episode 5: This Space Sparks Episode explores the concept of gravitational lensing. 

This effect is only visible in rare cases and only the best telescopes—including the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope—can observe the results of gravitational lensing. The strong gravity of a massive object, such as a cluster of galaxies, warps the surrounding space, and light from distant objects travelling through that warped space is curved away from its straight-line path.

This video will highlight how Hubble's sensitivity and high resolution allows it to see details in these faint, distorted images of distant galaxies.

Credits: 

Directed by: Bethany Downer and Nico Bartmann  

Editing: Nico Bartmann  

Web and technical support: Enciso Systems  

Written by: Bethany Downer   

Footage and photos: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble, NASA

Duration: 5 minutes, 30 seconds

Release Date: August 4, 2021

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