Gravitational lensing

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/gravitational-lensing

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the theoretical basis?General relativity posits that mass curves spacetime, dictating the paths of light
2. What is the first confirmation?Observed in 1919 during a solar eclipse by Arthur Eddington's expedition
3. How does gravity bend light?Massive objects warp the fabric of spacetime, and light follows these curved paths, so it looks like it’s being bent.
4. Why do we see Einstein rings?When a galaxy, a massive lens, and Earth line up just right, the bent light forms a bright, circular ring called an Einstein ring.

Geodesic: The shortest path between two points in a curved spacetime, analogous to a straight line in flat space.
Einstein Radius: The angular radius of the ring formed when a point source is lensed by a point mass with perfect alignment.
Microlensing: A type of gravitational lensing caused by a compact object, used to detect exoplanets and stellar remnants.