Ormond Stone found NGC 1794 = LM 1-146 on 11 Dec 1885 with the 26" refractor at the Leander McCormick Observatory. Stone's rough position is 1 min of RA west of ESO 553-007 = MCG -03-14-002. At the end of the second discovery list there is a note that LM 1-146 = GC 998 = NGC 1781. This galaxy was discovered 100 years earlier by WH (III-268) but Herschel's RA was 3.0 tmin too far west (corrected by Caroline Herschel). ESO 553-007 is labeled NGC 1781 in the Uranometria 2000 Atlas but as NGC 1794 in MCG and RC3. By historical precedence, the primary designation should be NGC 1781.

400/500mm - 17.5" (1/20/90): fairly faint, small, round, bright core, stellar nucleus. A mag 14 star is 1.2' SSE of center. Located 10' SW of mag 8.0 SAO 150172. Identified as NGC 1781 on the U2000.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb