Lewis Swift discovered NGC 1086 = Sw. II-24 on 20 Aug 1885 with the 16" refractor at Warner Observatory and recorded "vF; pS; D* near". His position is 13 tsec east of UGC 2258 = PGC 10587, but there are no other nearby candidates and the nearby double star is 4.8' SE.

400/500mm - 17.5" (10/24/87): faint, small, slightly elongated, almost even surface brightness, rich star field. A pretty double star lies 5' SE (9.3/11.3 at 8" in PA 90?). Surrounded by several mag 14-15 stars.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb