John Herschel discovered NGC 2030 = h2910 on 23 Dec 1834 and recorded "B; L; gbM. The first of 3 neb, which run together." On a second sweep, he logged "vF; pL; irreg R. The first of 3, which run together. See Plate III. fig 5." The modern identities for NGC 2029 and 2030 are reversal. See historical notes for NGC 2029.

600/800mm - 24" (4/11/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): this is the NW component of the Seagull Nebula; a bright, highly structured 7'x5' emission nebula. The brightest portion of NGC 2030 is a bright streak elongated E-W that extends west from mag 12.3 HD 269810. A large mass of nebulosity spreads to the north from this streak in a more circular 2' patch. This object is incorrectly identified as NGC 2029 in modern catalogues and atlases.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb