NGC 4609 (also known as Caldwell 98) is an open cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Crux.

[4] The cluster has an apparent visual magnitude of 6.9[2] and spans an angular size of 6.5′.

[1] It is situated beyond the Coalsack Nebula[5] at an estimated distance of 4,500 ly (1,379 pc) from the Sun.

33 probable members have been identified,[7] including the variable Be star BZ Crucis.

[8] The metallicity of the cluster, as measured by the abundance of iron, is slightly larger than in the Sun.