NGC 3324 is an
open cluster in the southern constellation
Carina, located northwest of the
Carina Nebula at a distance of 9,100
ly (2,800
pc) from Earth. The two are often confused as a single object, and together have been nicknamed the "
Gabriela Mistral Nebula" due to its resemblance to the Chilean poet.
NGC 3324 was first catalogued by
James Dunlop in 1826. This infrared photograph by NASA’s
James Webb Space Telescope shows a young, star-forming region in the western section of NGC 3324 known as the "Cosmic Cliffs".
Photograph credit: NASA