Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

The Einstein Cross Gravitational Lens

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 17, 2017 is “The Einstein Cross Gravitational Lens,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: J. Rhoads ( Arizona State U. ) et al. , WIYN , AURA , NOAO , NSF). The original explanation runs about 138 words.

The Einstein Cross Gravitational Lens
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: J. Rhoads ( Arizona State U. ) et al. , WIYN , AURA , NOAO , NSF Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Most galaxies have a single nucleus — does this galaxy have four? The strange answer leads astronomers to conclude that the nucleus of the surrounding galaxy is not even visible in this image .”

— APOD editors, December 17, 2017

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
December 17, 2017
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: J. Rhoads ( Arizona State U. ) et al. , WIYN , AURA , NOAO , NSF
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 138 words

All of December 2017 → · 2017 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 17 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.