A Galaxy Viewed Simultaneously at 3 Different Times

James Webb, the most advanced space telescope, which started operating in the summer of 2022, sent a new frame to Earth, where you will get lost in details as you look. Spectacular detail was also seen in the image of the RX J2129 galaxy cluster.

Thanks to the phenomenon described as “gravitational lensing”, James Webb simultaneously imaged a galaxy, including a supernova living star, in three different time periods. That image was like this:

Supernova and its galaxy viewed in different time zones:

The presence of a bright star can be seen in the first image (middle) from the event called “AR 2022riv”. However, this star is no longer seen in its reflections, which show 320 days and 1000 days after the event. The star disappears by experiencing the supernova process.

The European Space Agency announced that the type of supernova was ‘Ia’. Because such supernovas produce the same intensity of brightness, they are easier for scientists to study than other supernovas, so more scientific outputs can be obtained.

So how can we see 3 different times at the same time?

“Gravitational lensing” arises when objects in the vacuum of space bend space and time thanks to their mass. This bending also causes the light of the objects behind our view to be bent.

Thanks to this effect, we get the chance to observe other structures that are behind the massive structures and are at a distance that we cannot normally observe, and from time to time we can see their states in different time periods at the same time.