New test of Einstein’s general relativity
Astronomers have made the most precise test ever of general relativity outside the Milky Way.
They first used ESO’s VLT to measure the gravitational effect of a galaxy by watching how quickly stars zoomed around its centre.
The Hubble Space Telescope was then used to measure another effect of this galaxy’s mass...
...by observing an Einstein ring caused by light from a background galaxy being bent and distorted.
The two measurements were compared and showed that general relativity correctly describes how gravity works on the scale of galaxies...
...proving Einstein right and some alternative theories of gravity wrong!
Transcribed by ESO; Translated by —