Sign In
Learn bits
Science & Tech.
Mahesh

03/08/22 13:12 PM IST

Gravitational Lensing

In News 
  • USA's space agency NASA had launched James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in 2021, which will use a natural phenomenon called “gravitational lensing” to carry out astronomical observations.
Gravitational Lensing
  • The phenomenon of gravitational lensing occurs when a huge amount of matter, such as a massive galaxy, cluster of galaxies or a black hole, creates a gravitational field that distorts and magnifies the light from objects behind it.
  • Gravitational lensing is based on Einstein's theory of general relativity (Mass bend light).
  • Normal lenses such as the ones in a magnifying glass work by bending light rays that pass through them in a process known as refraction, in order to focus the light somewhere else.
  • Similarly, the gravitational field of a massive object causes light rays passing close to that object to be bent and refocused somewhere else.
  • The more massive the object, the stronger its gravitational field and hence the greater the bending of light rays - just like using denser materials to make optical lenses results in a greater amount of refraction.
  • In effect, gravitational lenses act like natural cosmic telescopes.
  • The effect allows researchers to study the details of early galaxies too far away to be seen otherwise with even the most powerful space telescopes.
  • However, gravitational lensing is very rare as it requires a distant star, black hole and the observer on earth to be well-aligned.
  • Also, it can help astronomers to know about black holes, dark matter, etc.
Source- Indian Express 

More Related Current Affairs View All

05 Aug

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

'In a note that police found in his wallet, the gunman who killed four people in New York on Monday claimed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) — a result of playin

Read More

05 Aug

How India’s pesticide market is changing

'Crop protection chemicals are commonly known as “pesticides”.' These are basically substances sprayed on crops to protect against insects (“pests”) that

Read More

04 Aug

Maharashtra’s new security Bill

'The Maharashtra Legislature passed the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill or a ‘Bill to provide for effective prevention of certain unlawful activities of Left Wing Ex

Read More

India’s First Ai-Driven Magazine Generator

Generate Your Custom Current Affairs Magazine using our AI in just 3 steps