NGC 3532 Open Cluster

The Wishing Well Cluster (NGC 3532) is a bright open cluster located approximately 1,321 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. It has an apparent magnitude of 3 and is one of the finest telescope targets in the southern sky.

NGC 3532 is also known as the Pincushion Cluster, the Football Cluster, the Firefly Party Cluster, and the Black Arrow Cluster. The appearance of the cluster has been compared to scattered silver coins in a well, an American football, and fireflies having a party.

With an apparent magnitude of 3 and an angular size of 64.3 arcminutes – about twice the size of the full Moon – the Wishing Well Cluster is easily observed in binoculars and small telescopes. It is catalogued as Caldwell 91 in the Caldwell catalogue of deep sky objects visible in amateur telescopes.