William Herschel discovered NGC 1589 = H II-7 = h318, along with NGC 1587 and 1588, on 19 Dec 1783 (early sweep 54). His summary description (from 3 sweeps) reads "F, pL, iR, vlbM." On 16 Dec 1827 (sweep 100), John Herschel recorded "pB; bM; E from sf to np; has a * 50? nf, 1' dist; its situation is nearly at right angles to the longer axis of the nebula."

R.J. Mitchell, using the 72" on 29 Nov 1856, reported "the preceding edge of [NGC 1589] seems black and sharp as compared to its following edge." This "black" edge is a dust lane along the western flank.

300/350mm - 13.1" (12/22/84): moderately bright, edge-on 4:1 NNW-SSE, fairly small, small bright core. Forms a wide pair with NGC 1587 12' S.

400/500mm - 17.5" (2/3/03): very nice moderately large edge-on 4:1 NNW-SSE, 1.3'x0.3'. Contains a bright core with faint extensions. In a trio with NGC 1587/1588 12' S.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb