gravitational lens
noun
: a massive celestial object (such as a galaxy) that bends and focuses the light of another more distant object (such as a quasar) by gravity and that is usually detected by the multiple images it forms of the second object
Examples of gravitational lens in a Sentence
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The closer that light passes to the warping object, or gravitational lens, the more strongly its otherwise straight path gets curved.
—
Robert Lea, Space.com, 30 Mar. 2026
These CubeSats could then make a 25-year journey to the solar gravitational lens (SGL) point.
—Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 26 July 2022
Such mirror images arise when an object’s light takes multiple paths around a gravitational lens.
—Fionna M. D. Samuels, Scientific American, 21 July 2022
But the galaxy cluster captured in the image, known as SMACS 0723, serves as a gravitational lens, bringing to light more distant galaxies.
—Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 12 July 2022
The image, the deepest infrared shot ever taken, shows a foreground galaxy cluster called SMACS 0723 that is acting as gravitational lens, revealing much more distant galaxies behind it.
—Christopher Cokinos, Discover Magazine, 12 July 2022
With microlensing, a foreground object can act as a gravitational lens to bend and amplify the light from a distant background star.
—Bruce Dorminey, Forbes, 11 June 2022
The mass of that closer galaxy acts as a gravitational lens, bending SPT0418–47’s rays toward Earth so that ALMA can get a better image.
—Daniel Clery, Science | AAAS, 12 Aug. 2020
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Robert Lea, Space.com, 30 Mar. 2026
These CubeSats could then make a 25-year journey to the solar gravitational lens (SGL) point.
—Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 26 July 2022
Such mirror images arise when an object’s light takes multiple paths around a gravitational lens.
—Fionna M. D. Samuels, Scientific American, 21 July 2022
But the galaxy cluster captured in the image, known as SMACS 0723, serves as a gravitational lens, bringing to light more distant galaxies.
—Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 12 July 2022
The image, the deepest infrared shot ever taken, shows a foreground galaxy cluster called SMACS 0723 that is acting as gravitational lens, revealing much more distant galaxies behind it.
—Christopher Cokinos, Discover Magazine, 12 July 2022
With microlensing, a foreground object can act as a gravitational lens to bend and amplify the light from a distant background star.
—Bruce Dorminey, Forbes, 11 June 2022
The mass of that closer galaxy acts as a gravitational lens, bending SPT0418–47’s rays toward Earth so that ALMA can get a better image.
—Daniel Clery, Science | AAAS, 12 Aug. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Gravitational lens.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gravitational%20lens. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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