infinitylooper: The effect shown in the gif is called…
The effect shown in the gif is called gravitational lensing.
What is gravitational lensing?
Gravitational lensing is the effect seen when an object behind a massive object is in the line of sight with the earth. For example:
Earth ————>Massive Object—————->Far away object
When we try looking at the far away object, the massive object bends space-time around it, causing the light rays from the far away object to travel in a curved path around into our line of sight.
As a result of this, we can often see the far away object magnified which helps astronomers understand the early universe. The gif shows a far away galaxy being gravitationally lensed by a closer black hole.
Reposted from http://lies.tumblr.com/post/51650854715.
