Galaxy Zoo Talk

Divergence of light

  • rezerox by rezerox

    I have read that one of the possible ways to spot black holes is when they pass between us and an object, causing the light from the object to bend around the black hole and causing a sort of "double image".

    Is that the case here? Or is it because we are not seeing two distinct images and more of a "blend" going on, it is more likely a merger?

    What kinds of clues can you use to differentiate between the two?

    Posted

  • ElisabethB by ElisabethB moderator

    Here it is definitely a merger between two galaxies.
    The thing you are referring to is gravitational lensing, but that is usually done by massive galaxies or clusters of galaxies.

    There is another Zoo project that looks for these elusive lenses : SpaceWarps

    Posted