The Gravitational Lens Catalog (GLC) is a curated list of confirmed gravitational lenses, selected for clarity, scientific confirmation, and beauty. It’s a personal project, published here for others who might find joy or use in this cosmic gallery.
What is a Gravitational Lens?
A gravitational lens occurs when the gravity of a massive object bends the path of light from a more distant source located behind it. This bending results from the warping of spacetime, as predicted by Einstein’s General Relativity [Einstein_1936]. In 1937, Fritz Zwicky proposed that entire galaxies or galaxy clusters could serve as gravitational lenses, deflecting the light of background objects [Zwicky_1937]. He suggested that this phenomenon could help detect invisible matter and measure galactic mass—an idea that laid the foundation for a powerful tool in astrophysics. Today, gravitational lensing plays a key role in studying dark matter, galaxy evolution,...
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