Thisamazing image , taken by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array ( ALMA ) in Chile , has thrown up a bit of a surprisal . While the icon is stun its own right field , stuffy exam by scientist revealed a possible dwarf non-white galaxy hiding within , an challenging type of Galax urceolata that has elude scientists to engagement .

The figure is an representative of what is called anEinstein Ring . This is the impression of a gravitative lens , caused when a massive physical object   garble the light from a more remote one , creating a “ tintinnabulation ” as the spark move around around it . This particular object is call off SDP.81 , or to give it its longer formal name , HATLAS J090311.6 + 003906 .

Here , we see a coltsfoot 12 billion light - years away , the “ red ” in the image , distorted by a massive intermediary galaxy , the “ blue ” part of the image , 4 billion light - years away .

But in apaperpublished in theAstrophysical Journal , stargazer Yasher Hezaveh at Stanford University in California and his team found sign of a blot out nanus dark Galax urceolata in the nearby galaxy , which distorted the image of the upstage galaxy . This object , foreground as the white dot in the figure of speech above , could only be detect thanks to its gravitative influence on the more distant galaxy .

" We can find these invisible physical object in the same style that you’re able to see rainwater droplets on a windowpane , ” Hezaveh explicate in astatement . “ You do it they are there because they distort the persona of the background objects . ”

It ’s thought that this dwarf dour wandflower is hide near the halo of its expectant companion . But the fact that astronomers have n’t found more of these objects   has been somewhat of a puzzle . There are thought to be thousands around our own milklike Way , but only about 40 have been found so far .

The answer may lie in the composition of the small objects . This latest observation suggests that they are made mostly of dark matter , meaning they pass off little to any seeable light source . But their gravitative effect can still be generalize .

" Our current measuring jibe with the predictions of inhuman moody thing , " say squad appendage Gilbert Holder of McGill University in Montreal , Canada . " to increase our confidence , we will need to look at many more lenses . "