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| Galaxy Cluster 0024+1654 is a massive cluster of galaxies that magnifies, stretches, and distorts the image of a faint background galaxy by means of its tremendous gravitational field. The cluster galaxies are visible as the yellow objects concentrated toward the center of the image, while the background galaxy is visible as the blue arcs that encircle the image. In essence, the cluster of galaxies acts as an enormous "gravitational lens," bending and focusing the light of the background galaxy according to an effect first worked out by Einstein in 1936 as a consequence of the general theory of relativity. The cluster galaxies are some five billion light years distant, while the background galaxy is some 10 billion light years distant. |
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