Albert Einstein’s theory on general relativity has been validated when astronomers have captured the exploding moment of a far-off supernova not just once, but four times.
The bursting supernova was set behind a cluster of enormous galaxies whose colossal mass distorted both space and time and in the process created an extraterrestrial magnifying glass. The light which passed through this warped region from the supernova ended up producing multiple images.
The 20th century relativity theory of Einstein explained the way enormous objects end up bending space and time to create the force of gravity.
Dr Brad Tucker, from The Australian National University, said: “It’s perfectly set up, you couldn’t have designed a better experiment. You can test some of the biggest questions about Einstein’s theory of relativity all at once.”
This discovery was made by Dr. Patrick Kelly from the University of California Berkeley while observing and in search for far away galaxies. “It really threw me for a loop when I spotted the four images surrounding the galaxy – it was a complete surprise,” he said.
This particular discovery validates the theory of general relativity along with providing information regarding the strength of gravity along with quantity of dark matter and dark energy that exists in the universe.
Dark matter is an invisible element which can be visualized but unites galaxies with each other and is present in most of the matter of the universe although its characteristics are still mysterious to scientists.
What is even more inexplicable is that dark energy releases an ‘anti-gravity’ force which causes galaxies to flutter away at a speedy rate.
The magnification of the supernova has assisted astronomers in revealing light that has spent billions of years traveling around the universe.
“It’s a relic of a simpler time, when the universe was still slowing down and dark energy was not doing crazy stuff,” said Dr Tucker.
