NGC 3324

NGC 3324 is an open cluster in the southern constellation Carina, located northwest of the Carina Nebula (NGC 3372) at a distance of 2800 pc from Earth. It is closely associated with the emission nebula IC 2599, also known as Gum 31. 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.

The Hubble Space Telescope observed a western section of NGC 3324 in detail, and the same section was one of the first observations of the James Webb Space Telescope, for comparison.

Nearby clusters
NGC 3324 is associated with the open cluster NGC 3293. Both are fairly young, at around 12 million years old. They show some degree of mass segregation, with more massive stars concentrated near their centers. Neither are dynamically relaxed.