By Ron Cowen
A team of astronomers has for the first time discovered a gravitational lens in which the image of a distant galaxy has been split into six distinct images. This unusual configuration is caused by three galaxies acting as a compound lens, strung out along the line of sight between the distant galaxy and Earth.
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Simpler than a lens produced by a galaxy cluster, yet more complicated than that generated by a single galaxy, this type of lens is expected to be rare. Study coauthor David Rusin of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia says, “[It] will give us insights we can’t get from other types of lenses.” The team expects to learn about the structure of the galaxies serving as lenses.