Experts from the European Space Agency (ESA) have published an image of the gravitational lens of the RX J1131-1231 quasar, taken by the James Webb Space Observatory. The image of a quasar resembles an expensive diamond ring.

The RX J1131-1231 quasar is located about six billion light-years from Earth in the constellation Goblet. Gravitational lensing, devised by Albert Einstein, offers a rare opportunity to study the regions close to the black hole in distant quasars by acting like a telescope lens and magnifying the light from these sources.

All matter in the universe warps the space around it, and larger masses have a stronger effect. Light passing around very massive objects, such as galaxies, follows this warped space, and this warped space appears to deviate significantly from its original path. One effect of gravitational lensing is that it can magnify distant astronomical objects that would otherwise be too faint or distant to study.