NASA Finds Smiley Face In Space

The Universe Has A Sense Of Humour

NASA/ESA's Hubble telescope has captured a pair of galaxies which look as though they're 'smiling' back down at us.

Galaxy cluster SDSS J1038+4849 look like they're smiling thanks to a unique phenomena called 'gravitational lensing'. Closely grouped galaxies are the largest structures in the known universe and their effects on the space around them can be massive.

So massive in fact that they literally distort the spacetime around them. These 'cosmic lenses' then in turn magnify and distort the light surrounding them, giving the appearance that these clusters are engulfed in a huge bubble.

How do we know this? Wikipedia, courtesy of the ESA's own website. So if Wikipedia is good enough for the European Space Agency then it's definitely good enough for us.

Sadly you're not going to find many more smiling face galaxies as this one is very fortunately blessed with a bright star for a nose.

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