Francis Leavenworth discovered NGC 377 = LM 1-25 on 15 Oct 1885 with the 26" refractor at the Leander McCormick Observatory. Based on the discovery sketch, Corwin determined NGC 377 = ESO 541-019 = PGC 3931. This would place NGC 377 17' S of Leavenworth's rough position, an unusual error in declination. ESO misidentifies 541-019 as possibly NGC 412 (also from Leavenworth).

400/500mm - 18" (12/3/05): not seen at 225x.

18" (11/6/04): extremely faint, small, round, 20" diameter (core only viewed?). Only visible intermittently with averted and concentration (in fairly poor seeing) but sighting definite.

600/800mm - 24" (12/1/13): at 325x appeared extremely faint, small, round, 18" diameter. Visible perhaps 25% of the time as an extremely faint patch and too fleeting to detect an elongated shape. Forms the northern vertex of a triangle with a mag 14.5 star 6' SW and a mag 13.5 star 4.7' SE. A large scattered group of stars including several mag 10-11 lies ~10' E.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb