An Einstein ring is light from a much more distant galaxy that bends in such a way as to perfectly encircle a closer object.

Europe’s Euclid space telescope has detected a rare halo of bright light around a nearby galaxy, astronomers reported Monday. The halo, known as an Einstein ring, encircles a galaxy 590 million light-years away,

The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope was going through preliminary tests in September 2023 when it captured images of an Einstein Ring in a nearby galaxy.

Euclid telescope has located a rare hoop of light called an "Einstein ring" in a nearby elliptical galaxy. Though the galaxy has been on humans' radar for 140 years, its halo is new—and it has a lot to teach Euclid about the dark universe.

Euclid space telescope sent some images back to Earth during an early testing phase. While reviewing the pictures, astronomer and Euclid archive scientist Bruno Altieri found something incredibly rare: an Einstein ring circling a galaxy.