The light from a quasar was delayed by about 2458 days as the path it is travelling to us has been bent by the gravity from a cluster of galaxies

Space 23 June 2022

The four white dots around the centre of this image are all light coming from the same quasar

ESA/NASA/Keren Sharon (Tel-Aviv University)/Eran Ofek (CalTech)

Light from a quasar has been delayed for seven years as its path to us was diverted by the gravity from a cluster of galaxies. It is the longest recorded delay of its kind so far.

When an object in space is massive enough, it can act as a gravitational lens that bends light around it. For those watching from Earth, it can produce multiple images of things behind the big …