Sky science
Gravitational Lensing
Direct answer
Gravitational Lensing is the bending and magnification of background light by intervening mass through curved spacetime.
It lets gravity act as a cosmic lens.
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At a glance
- Found in
- Astronomy & Skywatching
- Related
- Active Galactic Nucleus, Quasar, Astronomy, Skywatching
It lets gravity act as a cosmic lens.
A scientific orientation to scale, light, or motion; the article supplies the precise definition.
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The story behind Gravitational Lensing
Eclipse measurements helped test stellar light deflection before modern surveys made lensing routine.
A one-minute story
The Wandering Stars
How the moving planets were watched, named and found, and what a transit is.
Why Gravitational Lensing matters
Gravitational Lensing maps dark matter, weighs galaxies, discovers planets, and magnifies distant sources.
How to read Gravitational Lensing
Model source, lens, observer alignment and distinguish strong, weak, and microlensing regimes.
Gravitational Lensing in practice: an example
A galaxy cluster can produce arcs and multiple images of one background galaxy.
Where readings of Gravitational Lensing go wrong
Lensed images are distorted sightlines, not repeated physical copies of the source.
Sources and editorial method
Research references used for this entry include:
- NASA Science: Black Holes - NASA reference for black-hole properties, accretion, detection, and gravitational effects.
- NASA Science: Universe Glossary - NASA definitions for common stellar, galactic, orbital, and high-energy astronomy terms.
- Source
- The Great Almanac Dictionary
- Category
- Astronomy & Skywatching
- Last updated
- 2026-09-26
See gravity bend distant light
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More in Astronomy & Skywatching
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Common questions
What is Gravitational Lensing?
Gravitational Lensing is the bending and magnification of background light by intervening mass through curved spacetime.
What do people get wrong about Gravitational Lensing?
Lensed images are distorted sightlines, not repeated physical copies of the source.
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