A newly released Hubble gallery gathers galaxies whose light has been bent into arcs, rings and multiple images by foreground mass. These gravitational lenses offer targets for observations with the Roman Space Telescope. The two observatories examine different wavelengths and areas of sky, allowing detailed visible-light views to accompany broader infrared surveys and subsequent modelling of how matter is distributed.
Hubble observations of distant galaxies reveal rings, arcs and duplicated images in a newly released gallery. Each pattern arises when a foreground galaxy or group bends light arriving from a more distant source. This gravitational lensing also magnifies the background object, making its appearance sensitive to the intervening distribution of mass.[1]
The featured systems were identified in sky-survey observations before Hubble examined them in detail. NASA’s Roman Space Telescope offers a wider, predominantly infrared view. Hubble’s detailed visible and ultraviolet observations can accompany that survey. Models of the distorted images will investigate foreground mass, including smaller concentrations that may affect the shapes of arcs.[1]
Most foreground galaxies in the gallery are elliptical, but spiral structures and dust lanes also appear. In one system, dust obscures part of a possible ring in visible light; infrared observations could help reveal the missing structure. Blue and red arcs also offer information about younger and older stellar populations. The gallery supplies observing targets for further measurements and modelling.[1]
