The intense gravity of all these galaxies warps space so that the empty space itself acts like a lens. Distorted images of far-more-distant galaxies appear as streaks and arcs. The magnification allows us to see much farther than we could otherwise, so some of the distorted background galaxies are among the most distant objects ever detected.
Credit: Andrew Fruchter (STScI) et al./WFPC2/HST/NASA
