NGC 1509 = IC 2026 forms a close pair with MCG -02-11-012 = PGC 14389 just 1.2' W. At first I thought it was a very faint mag 15-15.5 star, but with extended viewing, a 15" knot was seen. This companion is often misidentified as IC 2026.

Guillaume Bigourdan found IC 2026 = Big. 376 on 16 Dec 1897 while searching for NGC 1509. As Stone's rough position (to nearest minute of RA) is off by 4', Bigourdan misidentified a nearby star to the east-southeast as NGC 1509 and recorded the galaxy again as a "nova" (Big. 376). Howe reobserved the field in 1899-1900 and measured an accurate position for NGC 1509 but Dreyer didn't notice the equivalence IC 2026 = NGC 1509. IC 2026 is misidentified in MCG, PGC, HyperLeda and SIMBAD with MCG -02-11-012 = PGC 14389 just 1.2' W of NGC 1509.

400/500mm - 17.5" (12/30/99): faint, very small, round, 20" diameter. This is a very compact galaxy with a fairly high surface brightness. A mag 14.5 star is 1' E.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb