NGC 3532 explained

NGC 3532
Epoch:J2000
Constellation:Carina
Dist Ly:1,321 ly
Dist Pc:405 pc
Names:NGC 3532, Caldwell 91, Cr 238, Mel 103, C 1104-584, Cl* 1104-584, CL 1104-584, Lacaille II.10, Football Cluster, Wishing Well Cluster[1] [2] [3] [4]

NGC 3532 (Caldwell 91), also commonly known as the Pincushion Cluster,[5] [6] [7] [8] Football Cluster,[9] [10] the Black Arrow Cluster,[11] 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[12] and seven white dwarfs.[13] [14] 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 NGC 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 1752.[15] It was admired by John Herschel, who thought it one of the finest star clusters in the sky,[16] [17] with many double stars (binary stars).[18]

Hubble first light

Notes and References

  1. Chasing Carina . 26 February 2010 . 17 April 2016.
  2. Web site: A Colourful Gathering of Middle-aged Stars . Hook . Richard . 26 November 2014 . European Southern Observatory . . 17 April 2016.
  3. Web site: Wishing Well Star Cluster Sparkles in Colorful New Views . Kramer . Miriam . 26 November 2014 . Space.com . Space.com . 17 April 2016.
  4. Web site: NGC 3532 . Frommert . Hartmut . Kronberg . Christine . 23 June 2006 . SEDS Messier Database . SEDS . 17 April 2016.
  5. Stephen James O'Meara, The Caldwell Objects, Cambridge University Press,, p. 358–360.
  6. Book: Observer's Guide to Star Clusters. 55. Springer. Mike Inglis. July 2013. 2013ogsc.book.....I. 978-1-4614-7567-5.
  7. Book: 1,001 Celestial Wonders to See Before You Die. 80. Springer. Michael E. Bakich. July 2010. 2010ocws.book.....B. 978-1-4419-1777-5.
  8. Book: The Caldwell Objects and How to Observe Them. 190. Martin Mobberley. Martin Mobberley. Springer. Oct 2009. 978-1-4419-0326-6.
  9. Amateur Astronomer Association of New York, Nebula of the Month - Carina's Football
  10. IceInSpace - Australian Amateur Astronomy, Challenge Objects - June 2005, 2005
  11. Book: Chadwick . S . Cooper . I . Imaging the Southern Sky . 11 December 2012 . Springer . New York . 978-1461447498 . 94.
  12. Claria, J.J., Lapasset, E., (1988) "A UBV and DDO astrophysical study of the open cluster NGC3532", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 235, 1129–1139
  13. Reimers, D., Koester, D., (1989) "Spectroscopic identification of white dwarfs in galactic clusters. V - NGC 3532", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 218, 118–122
  14. Dobbie, P., Day-Jones, A., Williams, K., Casewell, S., Burleigh, M., Lodieu, N., Parker, Q., Baxter, R. (2012) "Further investigation of white dwarfs in the open clusters NGC2287 and NGC3532", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 423, 2815–2828
  15. The search for the nebulae - VI . Jones . K. G. . Journal of the British Astronomical Association . 79 . 213–222 . March 1969 . 1969JBAA...79..213J.
  16. Deep Sky Observer's Companion – the online database, DOCdb Lacaille II.10
  17. Book: Herschel, J. . 1847 . Results of Astronomical Observations Made During the Years 1834, 5, 6, 7, 8, at the Cape of Good Hope. . London, Smith, Elder &Co..
  18. ScienceDaily, "A colorful gathering of middle-aged stars", European Southern Observatory, 26 November 2014

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