The Einstein zig-zag could help answer big questions, like how fast the universe is expanding and what dark energy really is. At the heart of this system, labeled J1721+8842, lies a single quasar.

A new JWST study has revealed the true origins of a luminous quasar that has been duplicated six times as its light "zig-zags" through space-time via a phenomenon first predicted by Albert Einstein.

Unlike previous gravitational lenses, though, J1721+8842’s structure indicates that light in the lens zigzagged through the two galaxies; hence, the first-ever “Einstein zig-zag lens.” ...

This unique configuration — where light from the quasar bends and shifts around two massive objects — led the researchers to coin the term Einstein zig-zag. The phenomenon occurs when light ...

The James Webb Space Telescope has identified the first-ever "Einstein zig-zag," a distant quasar lensed six times by two precisely aligned galaxies that could help tackle a cosmological crisis.

The Einstein zig-zag could help answer big questions, like how fast the universe is expanding and what dark energy really is. At the heart of this system, labeled J1721+8842, lies a single quasar.