ACO 3192 - One cluster or two?

Abell 3192, located in the constellation Eridanus, was initially cataloged as a single galaxy cluster. However, subsequent observations have revealed that it comprises two distinct clusters along the same line of sight:

Foreground Cluster: Approximately 2.3 billion light-years from Earth.

Background Cluster: Roughly 5.4 billion light-years away, identified as MCS J0358.8-2955.

The combined mass of these clusters is so immense that it creates a gravitational lensing effect, distorting the light from more distant galaxies and producing elongated arcs in images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope (see here: Hubble Image.

Regarding additional galaxy clusters within a 1-degree field around Abell 3192, specific information is limited. The Abell Catalogue, which lists over 4,000 galaxy clusters, does not provide detailed positional data in the provided sources to identify neighboring clusters within this specific field. Further investigation using dedicated astronomical databases or sky surveys would be necessary to identify and analyze other galaxy clusters which are very numerous in the vicinity of Abell 3192.

Photographed from Hakos Observatory, Namibia under Bortle 1 conditions.