This 10.8 magnitude transitional galaxy resides in south-central Leo Minor just across the border from Leo. 5.5 magnitude Leonis Minoris, just 2.5 degrees to the northwest, makes a good jumping off point for a star hop. The sketch at left presents a 190X view in my 10-inch Newtonian. NGC 3245 is centered. It ranges across a 2'.5x1'.5 area, is elongated roughly north-south, and features a stellar core. A triangular asterism frames the SO-type galaxy. An 11th magnitude GSC star is visible 5' to the northwest. A star of similar brightness stands sentry 7' to the northeast. The brightest star in the field, 10.0 magnitude SAO 81358 shines 7' to the southeast. Observers with large aperture should look for UGC 5662, an edge-on spiral galaxy with a visual magnitude of approximately 13.8, about 9' to the northwest. |