In SCHOOLS across the eastern Mediterranean, children are still learning about the past of the fascinating places where they live through the distortinglens of modern nationalism.
If a large object passes in front of a more distant background star, it may act as a lens, bending and distorting the light of that star so that it may appear to brighten significantly.
One might say that the cluster has acted like a giant magnifying glass, or gravitational lens, in space - focusing, magnifying and distorting the images of the galaxy.