| NGC 3228 | |
|---|---|
Location of NGC 3228NGC 3228 DSS.jpg | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Right ascension | 10h 21m 22s[1] |
| Declination | −51° 43′ 42″[1] |
| Distance | 1,870ly (573pc[2]) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 6.0[1] |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 11'[2] |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Estimated age | 260 million years[2] |
| Other designations | Collinder 218, vdBH 93 |
| Associations | |
| Constellation | Vela |
| See also:Open cluster,List of open clusters | |

NGC 3228 is anopen cluster inVela. It was discovered byNicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1751–1752,[3] while he was inSouth Africa and catalogued it as Lac II.7.[4] It is small but bright and can be observed easily withbinoculars in sufficiently dark skies.[5]
It is a cluster of Trumpler type I1p or II3p, with few members with large brightness range and a slight concentration toward its center.[4] Klarchenko et al. mention 53 possible members within the angular diameter of the cluster. The tidal radius of the cluster is 1.4 – 5.5 parsecs (4.5 – 18 light years) and represents the average outer limit of NGC 3228, beyond which a star is unlikely to remain gravitationally bound to the cluster core.[2] The brightest member is of mag. 7.9 and the hottest star is of spectral type B9.[4] One member, HD 89856 (mag. 9.04, spectral type B9), is avariable star with period 4.556 days.[6]