A dramatic Einstein ring seen by Webb

<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;esawebb.org&#x2F;images&#x2F;potm2503a&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;esawebb.org&#x2F;images&#x2F;potm2503a&#x2F;</a> (<i>&quot;Spying a spiral through a cosmic lens&quot;</i>)<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.esa.int&#x2F;ESA_Multimedia&#x2F;Images&#x2F;2025&#x2F;03&#x2F;Webb_spies_a_spiral_through_a_cosmic_lens" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.esa.int&#x2F;ESA_Multimedia&#x2F;Images&#x2F;2025&#x2F;03&#x2F;Webb_spies...</a> (<i>&quot;Webb spies a spiral through a cosmic lens&quot;</i>)<p>Some clarifying context not present in this OP (phys.org): this is a composite of Hubble visible-light images with Webb data.

Has someone come up with a way to de-warp an object seen as an Einstein ring? I thought I had read someone doing this, but maybe it was they were <i>trying</i> to do this. Maybe it was during the discussion on using Sol as a gravitational lens like this?? Seems like some interesting math to put the image in TFA back into the shape of a galaxy.

Can someone with the knowledge explain, is the close elliptical galaxy actually just the small dot of light in the centre and the spiral galaxy is behind it but dramatically magnified by the lens effect?

&gt; Of course, this image is only possible because of our vantage point. Astronomers in other galaxies wouldn&#x27;t catch such a wondrous image.<p>Well no, but they probably would catch other wondrous images we can&#x27;t catch due to our vantage point.

Are diffraction spikes of light not present because everything in the picture is a galaxy and not stars? Or do they remove them now with processing?<p>Here’s what I mean: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;webbtelescope.org&#x2F;contents&#x2F;media&#x2F;images&#x2F;01G529MX46J7AFK61GAMSHKSSN" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;webbtelescope.org&#x2F;contents&#x2F;media&#x2F;images&#x2F;01G529MX46J7...</a>

Can somebody knowledgeable please tell me what&#x27;s the distance from Earth to these galaxies?

&gt; beauty is not only in the eye of the beholder, but also where that beholder is.<p>I love this

this should be able to be used to test dark matter theories.