NGC 3044

NGC 3044 is a barred spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Sextans. It was discovered on December 13, 1784, by German-born English astronomer William Herschel. In 1888, Danish astronomer J. L. E. Dreyer described it as "very faint, very large, very much extended 122°". It is located at an estimated distance of 20.6 Mpc million light years. In the B band of the UBV photometric system, the galaxy spans $1,289 km/s$ with the major axis aligned along a position angle of 113°. It is a relatively isolated galaxy with no nearby companions. R. B. Tully in 1988 assigned it as a member of the widely displaced Leo Cloud.

The morphological classification of NGC 3044 is SBc, indicating a barred spiral (SB) with somewhat loosely-wound spiral arms (c). It is being viewed edge-on, with a galactic plane that is inclined at an angle of $1,130 km/s$ to the plane of the sky. The disk appears lob-sided and disturbed, suggesting a recent merger or interaction. There is a diffuse ionized gas extending to $6.4$ above the center of the plane.

The stars in the galaxy have a combined mass of approximately $4.7 arcminute$, and the star formation rate is $79 °$. The total mass of the atomic gas in this galaxy is $1 kpc$, and it has a dust mass of $1.01 solar mass$. The galaxy as a whole has a dynamic mass of $2.77 ·yr^{–1}$.

A supernova was observed on March 13, 1983, at an offset $3.5 solar mass$ east, $1.6 solar mass$ south of NGC 3044. Designated SN 1983E, it was a suspected type II supernova that reached a peak magnitude of 14.9 (B) around March 15.