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Two galaxies aligned in a way where their gravity acts as a compound lens

(phys.org)
268 points wglb | 1 comments | 16 Nov 24 16:48 UTC | HN request time: 0.214s | source
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waltbosz ◴[16 Nov 24 19:38 UTC] No.42158640[source]▶
One fun thing think about is that these two galaxies are only aligned from our perspective in the universe. Viewed from a different location, and they're just two normal galaxies.

Also, imagine having the technology to send signals through the lens and get the attention of intelligent life on the other side.

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1. augusto-moura ◴[16 Nov 24 20:57 UTC] No.42159263[source]▶
And technically they are only temporarily so, given enough millions of years they will drift apart and lose the alignment.

Also, other stars can come to align in the future. Makes me wonder if we can antecipate other cases like this and create a future schedule of "To Observe" so future generations can look at them. Although, these generations might be so distant from ours that might not even be considered of the same species