gravitational lens

plural gravitational lenses

1. astronomyA distribution of matter whose gravitational field bends the path of light rays sufficiently to distort, magnify or multiply images of more distant objects.

   The two other examples of gravitational lenses discussed above have not been modeled as elaborately.

   1987, McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, Volume 8, McGraw-Hill, unnumbered page

   2 more examples

   Thus the galactic gravitational lens effect is not important in maintaining the radio reference coordinate system with mas accuracy, if quasars as fiduciary points are pertinently selected.

   1981, Ido Kansokujo, editor, Publications of the International Latitude Observatory of Mizusawa, Volumes 15-20, page 27

   Subsequent discoveries of several more examples of gravitational lenses eliminated all doubts about gravitational focussing predicted by general relativity.

   1999 August, Guillermo A. Lemarchand, Karen J. Meech, editors, Bioastronomy '99: A New Era in Bioastronomy, Proceedings, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, page 575