ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, G. MahlerA spiral galaxy lensed around a closer elliptical galaxy.One of the first verified predictions of general relativity is the gravitational deflection of starlight. The effect was first observed in 1919 during a total solar eclipse. Since stars appear as points of light, the effect is seen as an apparent shift in the position of stars near the eclipse. But the effect happens more generally. If a distant galaxy is obscured by a closer one, some of the distant light...
