Abell 3827: Cannibal Cluster Gravitational LensIs that one galaxy or three? Toward the right of the featured Hubble image of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 3827 is what appears to be a most unusual galaxy -- curved and with three centers. A detailed analysis, however, finds that these are three images of the same background galaxy - and that there are at least four more images.Light we see from the single background blue galaxy takes multiple paths through the complex gravity of the cluster, just like a single distant light can take multiple paths through the stem of a wine glass.Studying how clusters like Abell 3827 and their component galaxies deflect distant light gives information about how mass and dark matter are distributed.
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