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| Galaxy Cluster Abell 2218 is a massive cluster of galaxies some 2 billion light years distant toward the constellation Draco. Galaxy cluster Abell 2218 is so massive that its gravitational field can deflect rays of light that pass through it. This "gravitational lensing" effect serves to magnify, distort, and brighten the light of distant galaxies that by chance happen to lie behind the cluster, which in the image are visible as thin arc segments. These "gravitational arcs" are actually the lensed and distorted images of galaxies that are some 10 times more distant than the cluster. By magnifying the images of distant background galaxies, gravitational lenses such as galaxy cluster Abell 2218 allow detailed views of very distant galaxies to be obtained. |
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