John Herschel discovered NGC 2332 = h430 on 8 Mar 1831 (sweep 330) and recorded "F; S; R psbM; 12"." His position matches UGC 3699 = PGC 20276. JH and Dreyer equated this number with H II-862, found on 28 Dec 1790 and noted as "F, pL." In the 1912 republication of WH's catalogues, Dreyer added the note "Identification difficult, as it is one of a group. In Sweep 990, 57 Aurigae is the only comparison star and the neb. is 2 seconds preceding, 2' north of II.736. Auwers gives for 1860 7h 0m 8s, 39° 37' (NPD). It is probably one of Kobold's nebulae in the I.C." Auwers' reduced position is 3' SW of NGC 2340 and Harold Corwin suggests that both H II-862 and H II-736 apply to NGC 2340. Nearby NGC 2332 was discovered at Birr Castle in 1851.

The identications of NGC 2330 and NGC 2332 are reversed in the RNGC and MCG.

400/500mm - 17.5" (1/20/90): fairly faint, small, slightly elongated SW-NE, bright core, stellar nucleus. A mag 15 star is 1' SW. Forms a pair with NGC 2330 = IC 457 2' SW.

600/800mm - 24" (2/15/18): at 375x; fairly bright, moderately large oval 4:3 SW-NE, ~1.2'x0.9', sharply concentrated with a bright core and very small brighter nucleus. A mag 15.1 star is 1' S of center and a mag 15.7 star is barely off the NE end [0.8' NW of center].

Notes by Steve Gottlieb