Wishing Well Cluster
Star cluster in Carina · 1,600 light-years
🔭 Explore Wishing Well Cluster in the 3D map →View Wishing Well Cluster images →| Type | Star cluster |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Carina |
| Right ascension | 11h 05m 48s |
| Declination | −58° 46′ |
| Object distance | 1,600 light-years |
| Apparent magnitude | 3 |
| Apparent size | 12′ (arc-minutes) |
| Approx. true diameter | 5.6 light-years across |
| Also known as | C91 · NGC 3532 |
Caldwell 91, popularly known as the Wishing Well Cluster, is a star cluster (NGC 3532) in Carina — a family of stars bound by gravity. It appears as number 91 in the Caldwell catalogue, Sir Patrick Moore's 1995 list of 109 bright deep-sky objects for amateur astronomers. It spans roughly 12 arc-minutes on the sky. At about magnitude 3, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.
Although it appears about 12′ wide on the sky, its real span is roughly 5.6 light-years — the difference is a measure of how far away it lies.
Observing Wishing Well Cluster
Wishing Well Cluster lies in the constellation Carina and is best placed in the evening sky around March. Its maximum altitude above the horizon depends on your latitude. It is best placed for observers in the southern hemisphere, and sits low for those far north. At its brightness it can be found with the unaided eye under a dark sky and is easy in binoculars.
See Wishing Well Cluster in Universe Finder
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Sources
- Position, magnitude and angular size from the OpenNGC catalogue (Mattia Verga).
- Object identity cross-referenced with SIMBAD (CDS, Strasbourg).
- Image credits and the original observation source are linked with each photograph.
Related objects
- Pleiades — star cluster
- Hercules Cluster — star cluster
- Small Sgr Star Cloud — star cluster
- Messier 25 — star cluster
- Messier 103 — star cluster