NGC 4242

Alt. Designations: NGC 4242
Object Type: barred spiral galaxy
Constellation: Canes Venatici
Distance: 23 mly
Right Ascension: 12h 17m 30.0s
Declination: +45° 37´ 09"
Visual Magnitude: 10.9
Apparent Dimension: 5.2´ X 4.0´
Best Month To View: Apr

NGC 4242 is a very low surface brightness spiral galaxy in the constellation of Canes Venatici. Its face-on disk is covered with H-II regions starting at about magnitude 19. Individual stars are present at magnitude 21 and perhaps brighter. The galaxy has a small nucleus and a weak, diffuse bar, plus several filamentary, very faint spiral arms.