William Herschel discovered NGC 1713 = H II-516 = h339 on 1 Jan 1786 (sweep 506) and reported "F, S, iR, lbM." There is nothing at his position, but 6.3' due south is UGC 3222 = PGC 16471. Because of his father's poor position, John thought he discovered this nebula on 23 Nov 1827 (sweep 107) and wrote, "F; R; bM; the preceding of two [with NGC 1719]. JH equated the two observations in the GC, so there is only a single NGC designation.

300/350mm - 13.1" (11/29/86): fairly faint, fairly small, almost round, faint halo gradually brightens. Forms a pair with NGC 1709 2.7' WNW.

600/800mm - 24" (12/21/16): at 282x; fairly bright, moderately large, oval 4:3 SW-NE, 0.8'x0.6', gradually increases to the center. Brightest galaxy in a group (WBL 110 = HDCE 330) with NGC 1709 2.7' WNW.

CGCG 394-055, 7.7' SW, appeared fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated ~N-S, ~20"x15", slightly brighter core. Forms a close pair with CGCG 394-056 1.3' NNE.

CGCG 394-056, 6.6' S, appeared faint, very small, round, 12" diameter. A mag 13.5 star is attached at the southeast end. Mag 8.9 HD 31724 is 5' W.

UGC 3221, 24' S, appeared fairly faint, thin edge-on 6:1 NNW-SSE, ~30"x5", even surface brightness. A mag 14.5 star is superimposed at the south end. A mag 9.2 star is 4.7' S as well as a nearby mag 9.9 star.

UGC 3214, 26' NW, appeared moderately bright, fairly large edge-on 4:1 SW-NE, at least 1.6'x0.4'. Contains a bright, elongated bulging core and much fainter extensions.

CGCG 394-053, 21' NNW, appeared fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 NW-SE, 30"x15".

Notes by Steve Gottlieb