Lewis Swift discovered IC 868 = Sw. VIII-71 on 22 Apr 1889 and recorded "eeF; pS; R; 4th of 5; D[ouble] with 5th [IC 869]." His position is 2' too far SW, but the comment "double with[IC 869" as well as his description for[IC 869 clearly points to CGCG 130-028 as IC 868. Javelle independently discovered the group on 11 Jun 1891 and measured pretty accurate positions that were used in the IC.

900/1200mm - 48" (4/21/17): at 488x; fairly bright, fairly small, 18" diameter, contains a very small bright core with a stellar nucleus. In a group with IC 870 0.9' SE and LEDA 1632104 0.6' NE. IC 867, 2.6' NW, is collinear with IC 868 and 870. LEDA 1632104 appeared faint, very small, slightly elongated, ~10"x7".

Notes by Steve Gottlieb