Stephane Javelle found IC 1653 = J. 3-849 on 17 Oct 1903 with the 30-inch refractor at the Nice Observatory. His position matches NGC 443 = UGC 796. This galaxy was discovered earlier by Heinrich d'Arrest with the 11-inch Fraunhofer refractor in Copenhagen but his position is 9' too far south. His description, though, of a nearby faint star confirms this identification. UGC, MCG (+05-04-005) and CGCG (502-010) use the unambiguous IC designation for this galaxy, instead of NGC 443.

400/500mm - 17.5" (9/19/87): fairly faint, small, round, bright core, stellar nucleus. Located 20' NNW of NGC 447. Identified as IC 1653 in the UGC and CGCG.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb