Ormond Stone discovered NGC 1306 = LM 1-103 in 1886 with the 26" refractor at the Leander McCormick Observatory and recorded "mag 14.8, vS, gbM, no Nucl, *10.5 4' E." His rough position matches ESO 481-023 = PGC 12559. There is no star as bright as mag 10.5 to the east, but a mag 12.5 star 3.3' NE may be the intended star. The RA was corrected in Robert Baker's 1933 "Catalogue of 985 Extragalactic Nebulae in a Region in Fornax and Eridanus".

400/500mm - 17.5" (12/30/99): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 0.7' diameter. Weak, even concentration to a slightly brighter core and a faint stellar nucleus. Located 17' WNW of mag 6.5 SAO 168493.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb