JWST Captures Its Most Extreme Gravitational Lens Ever

This side-by-side image above shows galaxy cluster Abell S1063 as imaged with JWST (left) and Hubble (rotated, right). The longer wavelength coverage and greater exposure time with JWST reveals features that Hubble never could have hoped to see. Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, H. Atek, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb); Acknowledgement: R. Endsley (L); NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz (STScI) ®

Massive galaxy cluster Abell S1063, 4.5 billion light-years away, bends and distorts the space nearby.

The most massive individual, gravitationally bound structures in the Universe are galaxy clusters, which can exceed a quadrillion (10^15) solar masses all clustered in a narrow region of space.

With so much mass in one location in spacetime, these objects create the most severe gravitational lensing effects known, showcasing both types of gravitational lensing: strong and weak.

In a remarkable, 9-filter, 120 hour set of JWST observations, massive galaxy cluster Abell S1063 has been revealed more deeply than ever before. Follow the linkbelow to see what JWST found inside, and behind, it.

(Source: Big Think)