![Hubble image of galaxy cluster MACS J1206](http://MontessoriMuddle.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/heic1115a-490x408.jpg)
The galaxy cluster MACS J1206. Galaxy clusters like these have enormous mass, and their gravity is powerful enough to visibly bend the path of light, somewhat like a magnifying glass.
These so-called lensing clusters are useful tools for studying very distant objects, because this lens-like behaviour amplifies the light from faraway galaxies in the background. They also contribute to a range of topics in cosmology, as the precise nature of the lensed images encapsulates information about the properties of spacetime and the expansion of the cosmos.
–NASA, ESA, M. Postman (STScI) and the CLASH Team: Hubble image of galaxy cluster MACS J1206