What are gravitational lenses?

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    Gravitational Lenses
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of gravitational lenses, exploring their definition and visual representations, particularly in relation to images released by NASA. Participants express confusion regarding the interpretation of these images and the underlying physics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant requests clarification on what gravitational lenses are.
  • Another participant provides a link to a resource that discusses gravitational lenses.
  • A participant expresses confusion about an image from NASA, indicating difficulty in understanding the visual representation of gravitational lenses.
  • Further elaboration is provided by the same participant, describing specific features in the NASA image, including the arrangement of stars and a galaxy, suggesting a gravitational lensing effect.
  • One participant acknowledges the previous contributions with a simple thanks.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion reflects a lack of consensus, with participants expressing confusion and seeking clarification rather than arriving at a unified understanding of gravitational lenses.

Contextual Notes

Participants have not fully resolved their questions regarding the interpretation of gravitational lens images, and there may be assumptions about the viewer's prior knowledge of the topic.

kiru
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What are gravitational lenses?
 
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Look here: http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~soper/Mass/gravlens.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I saw the page that you gave.But in the image that was released by Nasa as reality ,I can't undestand anything.
 
kiru said:
I saw the page that you gave.But in the image that was released by Nasa as reality ,I can't undestand anything.
See the two bright stars really close to each other on the left and third one a little farther away. That's really one star and some other star serving as a source of gravity. In the middle bottom part an object looks like a galaxy with a big star in the middle. That's the last example they mention. There are others but these are the most noticable.
 
Last edited:
Yes.Thanks!
 

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