Wishing Well Cluster (NGC 3532)
Also known as Wishing Well Cluster · NGC 3532
Wishing Well Cluster (NGC 3532) is an open star cluster in the constellation Carina, about 1,560 light-years from Earth.
Facts
| Type | Open star cluster |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Carina |
| Position (J2000) | 11h 05m 47s, −58° 46′ |
| Distance | 1,560 light-years (its light set off about 1,560 years ago) |
| Brightness | magnitude 3 (smaller is brighter; the faintest stars the eye sees are about 6) |
| Size on the sky | 64.3′ × 64.3′ (the full Moon is about 31′) |
| Filter | No filter (It shines in starlight of every colour, so a nebula filter would only dim it; a dark sky helps more.) |
| Studied in | 446 scientific papers (SIMBAD) |
When and how to see it
Wishing Well Cluster (NGC 3532) is highest in the sky at midnight in March. From India (about 20° N) it climbs to about 11° above the horizon; from 50° N it never rises. To see it you need the naked eye, even from a town.
Heights are worked out for India and for 50° N. Set your location in Settings to see them for where you are.
For tonight's best time from your own town, the darkness and the Moon, open it on the map and see its "Tonight from your location" card.
More in Carina
- Bullet Cluster
- Canopus
- Carina Nebula
- Eta Carinae
- Homunculus Nebula
- Statue of Liberty Nebula
- Toby Jug Nebula (IC 2220)
- Westerlund 2
Everything in Carina · All 88 constellations · All sky objects
Data: SIMBAD (CDS, Strasbourg; the site's weekly copy) · OpenNGC · Data sources & credits