A brighter group of stars including a mag 10.3 star and two mag 10.6 stars are within 5' to the north, making it very easy to pinpoint the location of IC 2161. NGC 2203 lies 33' SE and NGC 2190 is 28' NNE.

DeLisle Stewart discovered IC 2161 = DS 309 on a plate taken on 18 Dec 1900 at Harvard's Arequipa Station. He noted "eF, vS, bM, susp."

600/800mm - 25" (4/6/19 - OzSky): at 244x; fairly faint, moderately large, roundish, diffuse with a low surface brightness, halo fades into the background, ~45" diameter. A few very faint stars were resolved around the edges as well as a mag 14 star off the SW side. Located 6' WNW of a mag 8.5 star.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb