William Herschel discovered NGC 1284 = H III-956 = h2519 on 10 Dec 1798 (sweep 1087) and noted "vF, vS, 2 or 3' north of 2 small stars.". His position matches MCG -02-09-022 = PGC 12247.

400/500mm - 17.5" (12/28/94): very faint, fairly small, round, 0.8' diameter, low even surface brightness. A wide mag 13.5/14.5 double at 26" lies 2' SSE. Located 9.8' NNW of mag 7.1 SAO 148889. Appears fainter than listed V = 12.1.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb