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 from the Milky Way. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 9.7 and spans an angular size of . 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 .
Supernova One supernova has been observed in NGC 3344: SN 2012fh, a TypeIb/Ic that peaked at magnitude 15.1. It was discovered by Masaki Tsuboi on 18 October 2012.
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Galex image of NGC 3344