Luminous arcs in clusters of galaxies

Observations are reported of what appears to be a new class of spatially coherent extragalactic features having, in the two most compelling known examples, the following joint properties: location in clusters of galaxies, narrow arclike shape, enormous apparent length, and situation of center of curvature toward both a cD galaxy and the apparent center of gravity of the cluster. The principal available facts concerning the arcs are presented and a variety of interpretations are briefly discussed. The weight of evidence seems to favor the interpretation that these features are images of more distant objects produced by the gravitational field of the intervening clusters.