Galactic Scene

The entrance to the abandoned Spanish mission church at Quarai is showered with a panoply of galaxies discovered through an unusual optic phenomenon by NASA=s Hubble Space Telescope.

The huge gravitational field of this galactic cluster in the constellation Draco deflects light rays like an optical lens, magnifying and brightening the view of distant galaxies.

Peculiar dots and arc-shaped features are still unexplained. This deep view into the universe is made possible through Agravitational lensing,@ which scientists describe as like a cosmic magnifying glass. (GRIN Data Base: GPN-2000-000886. Also credit A. Fruchter, ERO Team, STScI, ST-ECF.)

The church at Quarai in central New Mexico was constructed in the 1600's of red sandstone and mud mortar, 40 feet high and 100 feet in length. The single-nave church, convento, and village was built by native labor under Franciscan direction. Too far from the Spanish military garrisons, too far from the water of the Rio Grande, the mission was abandoned before 1680.

Click on image to return to Quarai.