I was also interested. It seems to be a combination of the intermediate galaxy being elliptical, and the star behind it being off-center from our point of view:

I was also interested. It seems to be a combination of the intermediate galaxy being elliptical, and the star behind it being off-center from our point of view: https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/14056/how-does-gravitational-lensing-account-for-einsteins-cross/14631#14631 https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/14056/how-does-g...