{"id":16266,"date":"2018-06-21T16:30:39","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T20:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=16266"},"modified":"2018-06-21T14:44:55","modified_gmt":"2018-06-21T18:44:55","slug":"eso-hubble-and-vlt-do-most-precise-test-yet-of-general-relativity-at-galactic-scale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=16266","title":{"rendered":"ESO: Hubble and VLT do most precise test yet of General Relativity at galactic scale"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new report from ESO<\/a> (European Southern Observatory):<\/p>\n

VLT Makes Most Precise Test of Einstein\u2019s General Relativity Outside Milky Way<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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An image of the nearby galaxy ESO 325-G004, created using data collected by the NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the MUSE instrument on the VLT. MUSE measured the velocity of stars in ESO 325-G004 to produce the velocity dispersion map that is overlaid on top of the Hubble Space Telescope image. Knowledge of the velocities of the stars allowed the astronomers to infer the mass of ESO 325-G004. The inset shows the Einstein ring resulting from the distortion of light from a more distant source by intervening lens ESO 325-004, which becomes visible after subtraction of the foreground lens light. > Larger images<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Astronomers using the MUSE instrument on ESO\u2019s Very Large Telescope in Chile, and the NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, have made the most precise test yet of Einstein\u2019s general theory of relativity outside the Milky Way. The nearby galaxy ESO 325-G004 acts as a strong gravitational lens, distorting light from a distant galaxy behind it to create an Einstein ring around its centre. By comparing the mass of ESO 325-G004 with the curvature of space around it, the astronomers found that gravity on these astronomical length-scales behaves as predicted by general relativity. This rules out some alternative theories of gravity.<\/p>\n