Galaxy Zoo Talk

is this a gravitational lens?

  • EleanorD by EleanorD

    It seems to have a rainbow around it, but I don't know how to interpret the colours and was not sure what to make of it.

    Posted

  • ElisabethB by ElisabethB moderator

    No this is no a lens. This is a Hubble star. The colors, rings and spikes are all optical artifacts.

    Posted

  • EleanorD by EleanorD

    Okay so it's not a galaxy at all

    Posted

  • ElisabethB by ElisabethB moderator

    No, it's a foreground star from our galaxy 😃

    Posted

  • EleanorD by EleanorD

    How can you tell? A lot of the Hubble images look very like this one, and considering how far Hubble is looking, I would have thought a foreground star would be brighter. Is it the optical artefacts that make it more likely to be a star?

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  • ElisabethB by ElisabethB moderator

    Yes, the colors, rings and the spikes (diffraction spikes) just scream star. And remember here are also a lot of faint stars. (and looking at lots and lots of pics helps too ! 😉)
    Happy Hunting !

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