NGC 3344
galaxy
NGC 3344 is a relatively isolated barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Leo Minor. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 6 April 1785. This galaxy is located at a distance of 22.5 million light-years (6.9 Mpc) from the Milky Way. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 9.7 and spans an angular size of 7.1′ × 6.5′. The nearest bright galaxy is NGC 3274 at a projected separation of 3.7°. NGC 3344 belongs to the galaxy group known as the Leo spur, which is a branch of the Virgo Supercluster.
The morphological classification of NGC 3344 is (R)SAB(r)bc, which indicates it is a barred spiral galaxy (SAB) that exhibits rings (R, r) and moderate to loosely wound spiral arms (bc). The plane of the galaxy is inclined at an angle of around 25.5° with the long angle of the resulting elliptical shape aligned along a position angle of −23.9°. There is both an inner ring and outer pseudo-ring, with the prominent arms radiating outward from the inner ring and the relatively small and slightly elliptical bar being situated inside. At the center of the bar is an H II nucleus with an angular diameter of about 3″.
“NGC 3344” enters the record as galaxy. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what galaxy can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“NGC 3344” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, galaxy provides the most credible route into that argument.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1104303. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1785.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
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Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “NGC 3344”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow NGC 3344 primary sources, NGC 3344 archive and galaxy research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “NGC 3344” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.