Wishing Well Cluster (NGC 3532)
A bright and rich open cluster in Carina, nicknamed the Wishing Well or Football Cluster. One of the finest southern open clusters, easily visible to the naked eye.
Open cluster in Carina. Magnitude 3.0.
Can you see it from Guyana?
From Georgetown (6.8° N) it climbs to 24° above the southern horizon at its highest; from Lethem (3.4° N), to 28° above the southern horizon. It is highest at midnight on the night of 6 Mar, in the middle of its season. The page works out tonight's rise, highest point and set for both towns in Guyana time (UTC-4), and where the Moon is.
What you'll see
- Your eyes: Visible to the eye only from a dark site, as a hazy knot of stars; lost in city skies. From Guyana it only reaches 24° above the southern horizon, so you need a clear, low view south.
- 10x50 binoculars: Resolves into dozens of stars.
- A small telescope (80 to 100 mm): Dozens to hundreds of stars at low power.
- A camera: Spans about 40% of an APS-C frame at 600 mm (field 2.2° × 1.5°); needs a tracking mount.
How big, how bright, how far
- Size on the sky: 55′, 1.8 Moons across (the Moon is about 31′ wide).
- Brightness: magnitude 3.0. Brighter than the faintest stars Georgetown shows (4.3), and Lethem's (6.0).
- Distance: 1,321 light-years. The light reaching your eye left it about 1,300 years ago, around the year 730.
What it is made of
- Type
- Open Cluster
- Distance
- Approx. 1,321 Lightyears
- True size
- Approx. 25 Lightyears diameter
- Young Stars (A-type): Many bright blue-white stars
- Evolved Stars (Orange Giants): Adds color contrast
More deep-sky objects: Southern Pleiades (IC 2602) · Jewel Box Cluster (NGC 4755) · IC 2391 (Omicron Velorum Cluster) · NGC 2516 (Southern Beehive / Diamond Cluster) · Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) · 47 Tucanae (NGC 104)