John Herschel discovered NGC 5102 = h3492 on 21 Apr 1835 and recorded "vB; R; svmbM; 50"."

200/250mm - 8" fairly faint, fairly large, elongated.

300/350mm - 13.1" (2/19/04 - Costa Rica): bright, fairly large, very elongated 3:1 SW-NE, 4.5'x1.5'. Sharply concentrated with a small, very bright core that increases to a sharp stellar nucleus. The extensions are much fainter and require averted vision to see their full extent. Located 17' ENE of Iota Centauri and 6.1' SE of mag 8.3 HD 116049. NGC 5102 is a luminous starburst S0 galaxy and a member of the Centaurus A group.

13.1" (3/17/86): fairly bright, small, very small bright core, elongated SW-NE. Located 17' ENE of Iota Centauri (V = 2.8) and 6.1' SE of mag 8 SAO 204385.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb