The photo of the week must be this photo that will surely raise a smile. The stunning photo of a faraway galaxy cluster appears to be smiling back at the camera.

Captured by the Hubble telescope but first spotted by Judy Schmidt as a NASA “Hidden Treasures” competitor, participating in the image processing competition. She submitted a version of the photo after having been sifting through the Hubble Telescope data.

NASA mentions that the cosmic “face” in the galaxy cluster SDSS J1038+4849 is probably caused by a galactic phenomenon known as gravitational lensing. When large galaxy clusters produce such a strong gravitational pull that they warp the time and space around them.

The ring that makes up the “face” is called an Einstein Ring, and it’s produced by a very particular view of one such warped galactic cluster. And another line of warping forms a lopsided smile. And the eyes are produced by two very bright galaxies that are perfectly positioned to complete the illusion.

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Hubble: A smiling lens
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