Do you believe that lensing is from:
a) light being attracted to a planet's gravity.
b) light conforming to the shape of space which is distorted because of the planet's mass.
c) there is no such thing as lensing. it is an optical illusion.
2007-02-24 13:41:25 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
The correct answer is B. From Einstein's theory of gravity, a mass distorts the space around it causing light that passes near it to travel in a different direction. So it acts like a lens that concentrates the light traveling passed it so you can see the farther object in a ring around the foreground object such as a planet or galaxy.
2007-02-24 13:48:51 · answer #1 · answered by Sandra C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
B. Light has no mass, so it is not subject to gravity. Gravity is a property of mass. Matter distorts the space around it, gives it a directional bias. The greater the mass, the stronger the bias. So the mass is not attracting the light but refracting it, just like a lens.
2007-02-24 21:49:52 · answer #2 · answered by skepsis 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What people "believe" is irrelevant...gravitational lensing is fact. And B is the correct answer though Einsteinian wording always leaves me something to be desired.
2007-02-25 00:57:46 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
B - it fits the results of scientific experimentation and what is actually seen through scientific observation.
2007-02-24 23:08:13 · answer #4 · answered by Justin 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
gravity is a distortion of space and time.
2007-02-24 21:46:48 · answer #5 · answered by U-98 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋