Constellation Carina Declination −58° 43.8′ | Right ascension 11 05 33 Distance 1,321 ly (405 pc) | |
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Other designations NGC 3532, C 1104-584, Cl* 1104-584, CL 1104-584, Caldwell 91, Melotte 103, name=DOCdb-LacII10/> Lacaille II.10, Lac II.10, Football Cluster, Wishing Well Cluster.
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NGC 3532, also commonly known as the Football Cluster or the Wishing Well Cluster, is an open cluster some 405 parsecs from Earth in the constellation Carina. Its population of approximately 150 stars of 7th magnitude or fainter includes seven red giants and seven white dwarfs. On 20 May 1990 it became the first target ever observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. A line from Beta Crucis through Delta Crucis passes somewhat to the north of NCG 3532. The cluster lies between the constellation Crux and the larger but fainter "False Cross" asterism. The 4th-magnitude Cepheid variable star x Carinae (V382 Car) appears near the southeast fringes, but it lies between the Sun and the cluster and is not a member of the cluster.
The cluster was first catalogued by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1751. It was admired by John Herschel, who thought it one of the finest star clusters in the sky, with many double stars (binary stars).