Astronomers recently discovered 12 copies of a sunburst from the early Universe. An international team of astronomers led by Hkon Dahle at the University of Oslo observed a galaxy 11 billion years old in no fewer than 12 multiple, gravitationally lensed images using the Hubble Space Telescope.
The discovery sheds light on a pivotal period in the history of our universe: the age of reionization. The arcs of light visible in a new Hubble image aren’t weird artifacts or smudges on the space telescope’s lens.
Rather, they’re distorted and reproduced light of a galaxy 11 billion light-years away in the foreground.At least 12 duplicates of the Galaxy, dubbed the Sunburst Arc and designated PSZ1 G311.65-18.48, streak across the sky. Astronomers can learn so much about the Universe because of this phenomenon.
