A rare ring of light surrounding a galaxy nearly 590 million light-years away from Earth has been discovered by a space telescope that scientists hope will uncover more cosmic phenomena throughout the universe, the European Space Agency announced on Monday.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Europe’s Euclid space telescope has detected a rare halo of bright light around a nearby galaxy, astronomers reported Monday. The halo, known as an Einstein ring, encircles a galaxy 590 million light-years away, considered close by cosmic standards. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles.

The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope was going through preliminary tests in September 2023 when it captured images of an Einstein Ring in a nearby galaxy.

The "dark universe detective" space telescope Euclid has discovered its first Einstein ring in the process, learning about dark matter at the heart of a distant galaxy.

A European Space Agency telescope has discovered its first "extremely rare" Einstein ring in a galaxy "not too far away" nearly 600 million light years from Earth.