Scientists have succeeded in performing the most accurate test to date of Einstein's general theory of relativity on a large astronomical scale - beyond the Milky Way. About the achievement of the story is the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
Einstein's theory of relativity predicts that bodies deform the spacetime around them, resulting in the deflection of light rays. This phenomenon is called gravitational lensing. Moreover, this effect can be observed only in very massive objects.
It is important to note that Einstein's theory of relativity has already been tested with a very high degree of accuracy in various research projects. But until now, such work has been carried out on the scale of the solar system or the stars in the center of the Milky Way. This time, scientists have gone much further.
For research, the nearby galaxy ESO 325-G004 was chosen, which is located 450 million light years from Earth. Observations were made with the Hubble Orbiting Telescope and the MUSE instrument mounted on ESO's Very Large Telescope.
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Galaxy ESO 325-G004 acts like a strong gravitational lens - it bends the light coming from a distant galaxy behind it. In the course of the work, scientists were able to measure the degree of distortion of light rays, and, consequently, space-time.
"Comparing the mass of ESO 325-G004 with the curvature of space around it shows that the forces of gravity are acting exactly as predicted by general relativity," notes ESO.