Gravitational lensing is an astrophysical technique which uses the observed path of light from distant objects to both infer characteristics of foreground mass distributions, and to image background sources at much higher resolution than is possible with normal telescopes. Researchers at the University of Melbourne have a long history of developing innovative applications for gravitational lensing.
Supervisor Profiles & Available Research Projects
Prof Rachel Webster
- Gravitational weak lensing
- Quasar microlensing
A/Prof Christian Reichardt
- Gravitational lensing of the Cosmic Microwave Background
Dr Hayley Macpherson
- Gravitational lensing of galaxies and the Cosmic Microwave Background with numerical relativity
The Abell 1689 galaxy cluster acts as a massive gravitational lens in space, bending and magnifying the light of the galaxies located far behind it.
Courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech