microlensing

microlensing

(mÿ -kroh-lenz-ing) See Einstein cross; gravitational lens.

microlensing

[′mī·krō‚lenz·iŋ] (astronomy) A phenomenon in which a foreground star acts as a gravitational lens when it happens to pass in front of a background star, causing the background starlight to brighten and bend through a ring-shaped region.