The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured an extraordinary image of a distant quasar, RX J1131-1231, located 6 billion light-years away from Earth. This image, transformed into a stunning “Einstein ring” by gravitational lensing, reveals a breathtaking cosmic phenomenon.
A massive elliptical galaxy in the foreground of the image bends the light from the quasar, creating a bright arc and multiple images, resembling a ring adorned with jewels. Quasars are immensely luminous objects powered by supermassive black holes, fueled by large amounts of gas and dust.
Gravitational lensing allows astronomers to study regions around black holes in distant objects, providing insights otherwise impossible to obtain. X-ray emissions from quasars help determine the spin rate of central black holes, which is crucial for understanding their growth over time.
Key Findings and Theories
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), measurements suggest that the black hole in RX J1131-1231 is spinning at over half the speed of light. This rapid spin indicates that the black hole has likely grown through collisions and mergers between galaxies, rather than from random accretion events.
The image was captured using JWST’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) as part of a study on dark matter and its distribution across the universe. Combined with observations from other telescopes, RX J1131-1231 is now considered one of the most exceptional lensed quasars ever discovered.
The new JWST image not only showcases the beauty of the cosmos but also advances our understanding of black hole growth and the global carbon cycle. This discovery exemplifies the importance of advanced observational tools in uncovering the mysteries of the universe.
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