William Herschel discovered NGC 1247 = H II-900 on 10 Dec 1798 (sweep 1087), recording "F, E nearly in the parallel sp-nf, 3' l, 1' b". His position is 10 sec of RA east of MCG -02-09-014 = PGC 11931. Dreyer, using Lord Rosse's 72" on 12 Jan 1877, logged "vF, vmE 72.5?, glbM. *10m 6' np."

400/500mm - 17.5" (12/28/94): moderately bright edge-on 5:1 WSW-ENE, 2.4'x0.5', weak concentration. A mag 14.5 "star" 2.5' SE of center appears possibly quasi-stellar -- this is the compact galaxy Mrk 1071. A mag 10 star is 6.2' NW.

17.5" (1/1/92): fairly faint, moderately large, edge-on 5:1 WSW-ENE, 2.5'x0.5', broad mild concentration, fairly striking appearance.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb