William Herschel discovered NGC 1444 = H VIII-80 = h308 on 18 Dec 1788 (sweep 894) and recorded "a cluster of small stars, containing one large one, 9-10 mag; 2 or 3' diam. not rich." On 8 Nov 1831 (sweep 384), John Herschel logged a "cluster of about 20 st; place that of a superb double star (? 446); the rest 12m."

200/250mm - 8" (1/1/84): consists of a mag 7.5 star with 7 faint stars just west. The brightest star is ?446 = 7.5/9.0 at 10".

400/500mm - 17.5" (11/2/91): at 220x, about 20 mag 7-14 stars scattered in a 5' diameter, not rich or impressive. The group mainly consists of a bright double star (?446 = 7/9 at 9") with a third fainter mag 13 star 12" NE of the bright mag 7 star. Close northwest is a line of four mag 10-12 stars oriented SW-NE.

The bright star (B-type HD 23675) is a member of the Cam OB1 Association in a dusty portion of the Milky Way, but the "cluster" may be an unrelated group of field stars.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb