This fascinating image, taken by Hubble, shows not two but apparently three galaxies perfectly aligned in space (from Earth perspective). The galaxy in front is gravitationally bending the light of the two galaxies behind it, creating a ring of light known as an Einstein ring--although in this case there are two rings, making this the first discovery of a "double Einstein ring." Astronomers say the odds of three galaxies occurring in alignment is "more unlikely than winning two consecutive bets in a single number of roulette." Having never played roulette, I can't quite imagine how rare that is, but it sounds really rare. . .

 If I'm not mistaken, Einstein's model of space--which predicted large masses like stars would "warp" space and bend light--was tested during a complete solar eclipse. It was found that the sun did indeed bend starlight around its edges, making the stars appear in a slightly different position than they really were. The same phenomenon is happening to these galaxies, and thus, I presume, the name "Einstein ring."

 If my understanding is correct, this particular row of galaxies wouldn't appear aligned from another point in the universe--demonstrating again that we do live, as a couple scientists have put it, on a "privileged planet."

Also: Egypt--that is, Zahi Hawass--wants to copyright the pyramids. Don't you have to be the creator of a work before you can copyright it?

Image by NASA, ESA, R. Gavazzi and T. Treu (University of California, Santa Barbara), and the SLACS team