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NGC 3338 in Leo
Date of Obs ..... March 5, 2021 |
NGC 3338 is located about half-way between Regulus and θ Leonis, the star at the right angle of the tail triangle of the Lion. Still, with the charts at my disposal on this night, it was difficult to find the right location. I tried to star-hop from Regulus to the spot, but that did not work, so I switched tactics and first star-hopped to the westernmost Leo trio, namely M95/M96/M105, because I have plenty of experience doing that. Then from there it was a careful, halting star-hop northwest to the area of NGC 3338. Given its listed magnitude in the guide I am using of 11.6, I was very surprised to discover how difficult it was to see. At 76x, I could see nothing; at 159x, I could see the barest hint of a glow with averted vision. I could not detect any structure or its orientation or anything. My difficulties must have been related to the poor transparency because this galaxy is large compared to other ones I have observed tonight, so its surface brightness must be low. |