Observer's guide
About Needle Galaxy
Needle Galaxy (C38) is catalogued as a galaxy in Coma Berenices. Its J2000 position is RA 12:36:21, Dec +25:59:15, corresponding to 189.0867 degrees RA and 25.9874 degrees Dec. The local catalogue places it about 32,000,000 light-years away. Its referenced angular extent is approximately 13.8 by 2.19 arcminutes.
Observing tips
This is rated as a very hard target at magnitude 9.6. It is associated with spring observing, with midnight placement typically strongest around March. From 52 degrees north its theoretical meridian altitude is about 64 degrees; local horizons and the live altitude chart determine the practical window.
Because it is faint, use a larger aperture where possible, avoid bright Moon conditions, and use averted vision.
What to expect
The SIMBAD classification for the matched source is Sy2. SIMBAD records the morphology as Sab. A published radial velocity value is 1246 km/s. The SIMBAD record currently connects it to 998 bibliographic references.
At roughly 13.8 arcminutes across, it benefits from a narrower field and adequate image scale. Use the listed 13.8 by 2.19 arcminute extent to check framing, and treat catalogue magnitude as integrated brightness rather than a direct measure of visual contrast.