Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have taken a picture of Abell 3192, which comprises two independent galaxy systems — a foreground group approximately 2.3 billion light-years away from Earth and a further group about 5.4 billion light-years from our planet.
This Hubble image shows the galaxy cluster Abell 3192, which is associated both with a galaxy group 2.3 billion light-years away and with the X-ray luminous galaxy cluster MCS J0358.8-2955 around 5.4 billion light-years away. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / G. Smith / H. Ebeling / D. Coe.
“The new Hubble image features a massive cluster of brightly glowing galaxies, first identified as Abell 3192,” Hubble astronomers said in a statement.
“Like all galaxy clusters, this one is suffused with hot gas that emits powerful X-rays, and it is enveloped in a halo of invisible dark matter.”
“All this unseen material comprises such a huge amount of mass that the galaxy cluster noticeably curves spacetime around it, making it into a gravitational lens.”
“Smaller galaxies behind the cluster appear distorted into long, warped arcs around the cluster’s edges.”
Abell 3192 resides in the constellation of Eridanus, but the question of its distance from Earth is a more complicated one.
“Abell 3192 was originally documented in the 1989 update of the Abell catalogue, a catalogue of galaxy clusters that was first published in 1958,” the researchers said.
“At that time, Abell 3192 was thought to comprise a single cluster of galaxies, concentrated at a single distance.”
“However, further research revealed something surprising: the cluster’s mass seemed to be densest at two distinct points rather than one.”
“It was subsequently shown that the original Abell cluster actually comprised two independent galaxy clusters — a foreground group around 2.3 billion light-years from Earth, and a further group at the greater distance of about 5.4 billion light-years from our planet.”
“The more distant galaxy cluster, MCS J0358.8-2955 (RXC J0358.8-2955), is central in this image.”
“The two galaxy groups are thought to have masses equivalent to around 30 and 120 trillion solar masses, respectively.”
“Both of the two largest galaxies at the center of the new image are part of MCS J0358.8-2955.”
“The smaller galaxies you see here, however, are a mixture of the two groups within Abell 3192.”
