NGC 309 is fair-sized as galaxies go. Whereas many of the galaxies I've observed are tiny, little 1' diameter stinkers, NGC 309 tips the scales at 3' across. It's no M31 but definitely not unimpressive. My sketch was made with the 10-inch Starfinder equatorial at 129X. A 12th magnitude GSC star is positioned at the northeast edge of the galaxy. The brightest star in the field is 9.6 magnitude SAO 147522, about 9' northwest of the galaxy. You'll find NGC 309 in far southwest Cetus about 3 degrees west of 3.5 magnitude Eta (31) Ceti. While in the area, check out the fine planetary nebula, NGC 246.