Lewis Swift discovered IC 976 = Sw. VII-41 on 12 Apr 1888 and reported "eF; vS; R; eF * attached s[outh]." His position is 1.4' NW of the center of UGC 9040 but there isn't a star attached to its south side. I noticed that if Swift's made a 3 minute error in RA, his position is a similar distance north of NGC 5496. A faint star is attached to NGC 5496 but it's on the north side instead.

600/800mm - 24" (7/1/19): at 225x and 375x; fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 N-S, 30"x20", sharply concentrated with a bright, very small nucleus and stellar peak. Located 11' SE of mag 8.0 HD 123509. Member of the NGC 5496 group (LGG 377), which is located 43' E. Viewed at a low elevation in fairly poor transparency.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb