Lensed Quasars

Lensed quasars are extremely bright, distant objects—active supermassive black holes at galaxy centers—whose light is bent by gravity from an intervening galaxy or galaxy cluster. This bending, called gravitational lensing, creates multiple images or magnifies the quasar's light, allowing astronomers to study the universe's structure, dark matter, and cosmic expansion more accurately. Essentially, the gravity of the nearer galaxy acts like a giant magnifying glass, revealing details about the faraway quasar and the fabric of space itself.