The James Webb Space Telescope has captured something remarkable - one supernova seen three times because of a twist in spacetime. This phenomenon is known as gravitational lensing.&nbsp;

Light gets bent in certain regions of spacetime because of the mass of massive cosmic structures like black holes and even clusters of galaxies. These areas are called gravitational lenses. Like regular lenses bring farther objects closer to us, something similar happens in this case as well.

The gravitational lens in this case was because of a collection of galaxies in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy cluster is named PLCK G165.7+67.0, or G165. The collective gravitational heft of these galaxies bends and focuses the light from more distant sources.

“To achieve three images, the light travelled along three different paths. Since each path had a different length, and light travelled at the same speed, the supernova was imaged in this Webb observation at three different times during its explosion,” said Brenda Frye, study co-author and an astronomer at the University of Arizona.&nbsp;

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Only some parts of the research have been published and an upcoming paper on the supernova is currently hosted on the preprint server arXiv.

<h2>Gravitational lens and the supernova</h2>

These regions bend the lights from extremely distant objects in space, making it easier to see them from Earth. Since they are situated millions of miles away from Earth, they are also like ancient relics residing in the cosmos.

Researchers noticed that the gravitational lens in this case, magnified a supernova, that is the bright explosion linked to the death of some stars, and multiplied it in the sky.

JWST's Near-Infrared Camera (or NIRCam) captured the galaxy cluster and the supernova in March, April, and May of last year.

The galaxy cluster G165 is situated 3.6 billion light-years from Earth. However, the supernova is even more distant and hence, older.

The gravitational lens appears to have flattened the galaxy cluster and light has been warped into an arc-like shape. There are three specks of light stretched across the arc - each speck is the same supernova.

Frye compared the supernova seen three times to a person appearing three times as seen from three different angles in a three-panelled vanity mirror.

“In the trifold mirror analogy, a time-delay ensued in which the right-hand mirror depicted a person lifting a comb, the left-hand mirror showed hair being combed, and the middle mirror displayed the person putting down the comb,” Frye said.&nbsp; 
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The James Webb Space Telescope has captured something remarkable - one supernova seen three times because of a twist in spacetime. This phenomenon is known as gravitational lensing.

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured something remarkable - one supernova seen three times because of a twist in spacetime. This phenomenon is known as gravitational lensing. Light gets bent in certain regions of spacetime because of the mass of massive cosmic structures like black holes and even clusters of galaxies. These areas are called gravitational lenses. Like regular lenses bring farther objects closer to us, something similar happens in this case as well. The gravitational lens in this case was because of a collection of galaxies in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy cluster is named PLCK G165.7+67.0, or G165. The collective gravitational heft of these galaxies bends and focuses the light from more distant sources. “To achieve three images, the light travelled along three different paths. Since each path had a different length, and light travelled at the same speed, the supernova was imaged in this Webb observation at three different times during its explosion,” said Brenda Frye, study co-author and an astronomer at the University of Arizona. Also Read: Major solar storm incoming! Sun releases extremely powerful flare Only some parts of the research have been published and an upcoming paper on the supernova is currently hosted on the preprint server arXiv. Gravitational lens and the supernova These regions bend the lights from extremely distant objects in space, making it easier to see them from Earth. Since they are situated millions of miles away from Earth, they are also like ancient relics residing in the cosmos. Researchers noticed that the gravitational lens in this case, magnified a supernova, that is the bright explosion linked to the death of some stars, and multiplied it in the sky. JWST's Near-Infrared Camera (or NIRCam) captured the galaxy cluster and the supernova in March, April, and May of last year. The galaxy cluster G165 is situated 3.6 billion light-years from Earth. However, the supernova is even more distant and hence, older. The gravitational lens appears to have flattened the galaxy cluster and light has been warped into an arc-like shape. There are three specks of light stretched across the arc - each speck is the same supernova. Frye compared the supernova seen three times to a person appearing three times as seen from three different angles in a three-panelled vanity mirror. “In the trifold mirror analogy, a time-delay ensued in which the right-hand mirror depicted a person lifting a comb, the left-hand mirror showed hair being combed, and the middle mirror displayed the person putting down the comb,” Frye said.

One supernova seen thrice in a photo clicked by JWST because of a quirk in spacetime

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