Stunning Image Captures Rare 'Einstein Cross' Warping Light from Brightest Object in Universe

Astronomers have discovered a rare "Einstein cross" phenomenon, where a foreground elliptical galaxy has split and magnified light from a background galaxy. This pattern, predicted by Albert Einstein, shows four smudges of blue light haloed around the orange of the foreground galaxy. The background light likely comes from a quasar, a young galaxy with a supermassive black hole. The discovery will help scientists better understand the universe, as Einstein's theory of general relativity describes how massive objects warp space-time. Einstein rings, like this one, can enhance details in distant galaxies and act as a cosmic scale for gauging the masses of galaxies and black holes.