Lewis Swift discovered IC 316 = Sw. VIII-34, along with IC 313, on 14 Sep 1888 and recorded "eeeF; pS; R." So, Swift did not resolve the two nuclei.

400/500mm - 17.5" (1/7/89): faint, small, oval ~N-S, weak concentration. Located 5' ENE of IC 313 in AGC 426. A companion is superimposed 0.2' S, but the merged systems were not resolved.

600/800mm - 24" (2/7/16): IC 316 is a spectacular interacting/merging pair of spiral galaxies with the nuclei of the two galaxies separated by only 11". The close duo is embedded in a irregular common halo about 1' across. At 226x, a single fairly faint glow was seen, slightly elongated ~N-S, ~25" diameter. At 452x (10mm ZAO + 2x Powermate), I immediately noticed a nearly stellar nucleus [of the northern face-on spiral] offset near the north edge creating an unusual appearance. Often a very faint "spike" [the southern edge-on spiral] was seen close south of the stellar nucleus, angling towards the southeast, ~15"x5".

Notes by Steve Gottlieb