These graceful arcs are examples of a cosmic phenomenon known as an Einstein ring. The ring is created as the light from a distant objects, like galaxies, pass by an extremely large mass, like this galaxy cluster. In this image, the light from a background galaxy is diverted and distorted around the massive intervening cluster and forced to travel along many different light paths towards Earth, making it seem as though the galaxy is in several places at once.
These graceful arcs are examples of a cosmic phenomenon known as an Einstein ring. The ring is created as the light from a distant objects, like galaxies, pass by an extremely large mass, like this galaxy cluster. In this image, the light from a background galaxy is diverted and distorted around the massive intervening cluster and forced to travel along many different light paths towards Earth, making it seem as though the galaxy is in several places at once.

Cosmic Queries – The Shape of the Universe with Delilah Gates

ESA/Hubble, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Free Audio
  • Ad-Free Audio
  • Video

About This Episode

What is the shape of spacetime? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice discover the structure of the universe, spacetime geometry, and relativity with theoretical physicist at Princeton Gravity Initiative, Delilah Gates.

Is spacetime stable? We explore the four dimensions and how there could be more. Why are there so many spheres in the universe? Could the universe be a closed spherical shape? Find out if wormholes can be stable and how matter warps spacetime.

Could far away galaxies be our past selves mirroring back at us? Do we live in a flat universe? Learn about tori, the golden ratio, and the geometry of spacetime around blackholes. Why can’t light escape from a black hole?

Are galaxies closer together in other places or is it just our field of view? Could spacetime be like a fluid? Finally, Is there a center of the universe? Find out why not.

Thanks to our Patrons Anna Jeter, Logan Green, Kathy McConnell, Glen A. Axberg, and dan wres for supporting us this week.

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free.

About the prints that flank Neil in this video:
“Black Swan” & “White Swan” limited edition serigraph prints by Coast Salish artist Jane Kwatleematt Marston. For more information about this artist and her work, visit Inuit Gallery of Vancouver.

In This Episode

Get the most out of StarTalk!

Ad-Free Audio Downloads
Ad-Free Video Episodes
Stickers & Mugs
Live Streams with Neil
Priority Cosmic Queries
Early-Access Videos
Learn the Meaning of Life
...and much more

Episode Topics