Gravitational lens 0211+1139

This lens is one of the diverse 67 gravitational lenses found in the COSMOS survey. The lenses were discovered in a recently completed large set of observations as part of a project to survey a single 1.6-square-degree field of sky (nine times the area of the full Moon) with several space-based and Earth-based observatories.

Gravitational lensing is a phenomena where light travelling towards us from a distant galaxy is magnified and distorted as it encounters a massive object on its path. These gravitational lenses often allow astronomers to peer much farther back into the early universe than normally possible.

This colour image has been put together from data obtained by the Canada France Hawaii Telescope, and sharpened with images taken by the Hubble Advanced Camera for Surveys.