Illustrate the effects of gravitational lensing as you alter the path of light from a distant galaxy by varying the mass and location of an intervening cluster of galaxies.
Click the "Create cluster" button to insert a cluster of galaxies between the distant galaxy and Earth. Use the sliders to change the distance from Earth and the mass of the cluster.
This simulator is an HTML5 model of gravitational lensing.
This simulator models the paths followed by two beams of light passing close to a massive object along the way.
The bottom of the simulation shows where the distant source appears on sky for an observer receiving light that has had its path bent on either side of the interceding lens.
This simulator is part of the Foothill AstroSims project, which is aiming to reimplement, in HTML5, Flash-based simulations that are used in Foothill Astronomy courses.