Grinning galaxy captured by the Hubble Space Telescope



The image, known as galaxy cluster SDSS J1038+4849, looks like a smiling face and was tweeted from the Hubble Space account yesterday morning.

The European Space Agency said: “You can make out its two orange eyes and white button nose.

“In the case of this happy face the two eyes are very bright galaxies and the misleading smile lines are actually arcs caused by an effect known as gravitational lensing.”

The cosmic face is caused by a strong gravitational pull which warps the time and space around the galaxy cluster.

An Einstein Ring forms around the cluster, forming the face, and two bright galaxies complete the illusion of two eyes.

The image was submitted by Judy Schimdt as part of the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures competition, where amateur scientists can send their own interpretations of the stars.