Hacker Spaces

An astronomical experiment

the gravitational lens and a Einstein ringIn the dark quietness of the lab, using a special lens shaped like the leg of a wine drinking glass, a light source, and a piece of cardboard, we saw the Einstein Ring today. In space, these rings and associated shapes appear when light from distant sources is bent by a massive galaxy or group thereof. Our lens bends light exactly the same way a black hole weighting 75% of Earth mass would. This experiment, and the background about this phenomena are described in details in the paper didactical experiment on gravitational lensing

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