This image shows the light of a supernova split into four images by a foreground elliptical galaxy embedded in a giant cluster of galaxies. The four images were spotted on Nov. 11, 2014. Credit: NASA/ESA
This image shows the light of a supernova split into four images by a foreground elliptical galaxy embedded in a giant cluster of galaxies. Both the galaxy and the galaxy cluster are acting like a giant “cosmic lens,” bending and magnifying light from the supernova behind it, an effect called gravitational lensing. The four images were spotted on Nov. 11, 2014. Credit: NASA/ESA