J.L.E. Dreyer discovered NGC 373 on 12 Dec 1876 using the 72" at Birr Castle in the NGC 383 group. His description is simply "vF, vS" but he accurately placed it 428" in PA 225.8° with respect to a mag 12.2 star situated SSW of NGC 382/383. This offset matches PGC 3946. This is one of 8 galaxies in the Pisces Group discovered at Birr Castle. Karl Reinmuth, in his 1926 survey based on Heidelberg plates, described this object as a double nebulous star (there appears to be a very faint star at the NW edge) and Dorothy Carlson, in her 1940 NGC Corrections list, states "nebula + star".

400/500mm - 17.5" (9/19/87): very faint, very small, slightly elongated ~E-W. Located 8.3' SW of NGC 383 in the core of the cluster. Forms a pair with NGC 375 2.8' NNE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb