Enormous cosmic lens magnifies supernova

Galaxy warps light of distant exploding star, greatly increasing its brightness

BRIGHT LIGHT  The distant supernova PS1-10afx appeared 30 times as bright as it actually was because of the magnifying effect of a massive galaxy between it and Earth, as this illustration demonstrates.

Kavli IPMU

OXON HILL, Md. — An immense cosmic magnifying glass has given astronomers an unprecedented view of a distant exploding star.