In early 1987, a team led by MIT’s Jacqueline Hewitt was imaging radio-emitting objects with the Very Large Array radio telescope as part of a gravitational lens survey. The unusual appearance of object MG1131+0456 – an oval with elongated bright spots at the ends – led to further investigation, and the researchers eventually concluded it was the first observation of an Einstein ring. The discovery was published in the June 9, 1988, issue of Nature. Initially predicted by Albert Einstein in 1936, Einstein rings form when two objects, such as galaxies, quasars, or stars, are perfectly aligned to our view, and the light from the more distant object is lensed, or bent, by the one in foreground, creating a ring around it. Further research into gravitation lensing and Einstein rings can help astronomers learn more about galaxy masses, universe expansion, and the nature of dark matter.
