NGC 3532 The Wishing Well Cluster in Carina

One of the most picturesque open star clusters of the southern sky. It is located in the Milky Way in the constellation Carina, near the Eta Carinae Nebula, at a distance of about 1300 light-years. It is called the Wishing Well or the Pin Cushion, since it resembles either a handful of coins at the bottom of a well or a cushion with numerous pins. The cluster is bright, about 3rd magnitude, and in principle visible to the naked eye. The cluster consists of about 150 stars of 7th magnitude and fainter, among which there are red giants and white dwarfs. The image was taken with a fairly long exposure in H-alpha (5.5 hours) to reveal the beautiful hydrogen clouds against the background of this cluster.