Euclid Telescope Uncovers Rare Einstein Ring in Nearby Galaxy

The discovery of a perfect Einstein ring around galaxy NGC 6505 highlights the groundbreaking capabilities of ESA's Euclid telescope.

The Einstein ring, a rare phenomenon caused by gravitational lensing, was detected during routine testing of the Euclid telescope in September 2023.
The ring is formed by light from a distant galaxy, 4.42 billion light-years away, bent by the gravity of the foreground galaxy NGC 6505, located 590 million light-years from Earth.
This is the first time such a pristine Einstein ring has been observed around NGC 6505, a galaxy known to astronomers since 1884.
The discovery provides a unique opportunity to study dark matter and galaxy formation, as only 11% of the mass in NGC 6505 is attributed to dark matter, challenging current theories.
Euclid's mission, which began its detailed sky survey in February 2024, aims to map over a third of the sky and is expected to identify around 100,000 gravitational lenses in its six-year lifespan.