Francis Leavenworth discovered NGC 1563 = LM 1-129, along with NGC 1564, on 12 Nov 1885 with the 26" refractor at the Leander McCormick Observatory. Leavenworth gives a single (rough) position for the pair (separated by 1.7'), which is 3'-4' too far north. Herbert Howe measured an accurate position in 1898-99 using the 20" refractor at Chamberlin Observatory (repeated in the IC 2 notes). RNGC and MCG misidentify IC 2063 = MCG -03-12-005 as NGC 1563. PGC misidentifies MCG -03-12-005 as NGC 1563 but gives the correct position.

400/500mm - 17.5" (12/30/99): this member of the NGC 1561 group was a marginal object -- requiring averted vision and only glimpsed ~10% of the time as a 15" featureless knot just 1.7' WNW of NGC 1564 and 7' NNW of NGC 1561.

17.5" (2/8/91): Not found.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb