James Dunlop probably discovered IC 5332 = D 546? on 14 Jul 1826. He reported finding an "extremely feeble nebula, ill defined; it appears rather elongated oblique to the equator; it is north following a star of the 7th magnitude, and also north of the small stars." His position is 1° south and 1 minute of RA east of IC 5332, but a 7th magnitude is 13' SW matching his description and a group stars is close southwest. This identification was suggested by Glen Cozens in his analysis of Dunlop's discoveries.

Lewis Swift independently discovered IC 5332 = Sw. XI-233 on 19 Nov 1897 and reported "eeeF; vL; bet 2 st; D[ouble] * p[recedes] 45 sec little s[outh]; pentagon p[receding]." The double is the unequal double SEE 489, mentioned in my observation. This object was first reported in his 5th discovery list from Lowe Observatory in which he has the note, "..it is a remarkable object. It appears to be a nebulous nebula, if such an expression be allowable. Its appearance was as if a central, considerably elongated nebula with sharp outlines, was centrally superimposed on another nebula very much larger, and of unimagined faintness. It was impossible, the seeing being excellent, to assign limits to the outer envelope. It is the largest and among the faintest of all my nebulas. I have requested the Director of the Lick Observatory to examine it with the 36-inch telescope." Swift was credited with the discovery in the IC.

IC 5332 was first recognized on a Helwan Observatory plate taken between 1914-16 by Harold Knox-Shaw.

300/350mm - 13.1" (10/20/84): extremely faint, at visual threshold. At 74x and 88x appears as a large, very diffuse hazy region with averted vision only. Not seen at 166x although viewed at a low elevation. Located 12' NE of the double star SEE 489 = 7.0/11.7 at 20".

600/800mm - 24" (11/23/19): at 200x, faint, very large, slightly elongated, low surface brightness, weak concentration with a slightly brighter core region. The halo fades out without a distinct border but roughly 5'x4'. There was a suggestion of structure but the low elevation affected seeing subtle details. A mag 10 star is 4' NE and a mag 11 star is 4' E (part of a group). A mag 12.5 star is off the W side, 3.5' from center.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb