Isaac Roberts discovered IC 5378, along with IC 5377 and 5379, on a plate taken on 17 Nov 1895 of NGC 7814. He described IC 5378 as "Faint; elongated north to south; one of three 15th mag stars involved; condensation at the north extremity; length including the star about 42"." His position is 1.3' too far south (same as IC 5379), but his description is very accurate (except the involved mag 15 star is the nucleus).

400/500mm - 18" (11/14/09): faint, small, round, 20" diameter, two mag 14 stars [23" separation] are close preceding [nearer star is 30" west]. A much fainter companion (MCG +03-01-016 = PGC 178) attached on the north side was not seen. Located 30' NNW of NGC 7814.

600/800mm - 24" (12/1/16): fairly faint, small, round, 15"-18" diameter, slightly brighter nucleus. A 20" pair of mag 14.5 stars is off the west side. MCG +03-01-016, a very low surface brightness companion adjacent to the north [30" between centers], was not seen.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb