William Herschel discovered NGC 474 = H III-251, along with NGC 470, on 13 Dec 1784 (sweep 338) and logged both as "Two. vF, vS, R, almost stellar 4' or 5' from each other, nearly in a parallel." On 8 Oct 1785 (sweep 462) he noted "pB, pL, mbM." Again on 3 Dec 1787 (sweep 788), he reported "pB, S, R, smbM, the following of 2."

200/250mm - 8" (10/13/81): faint, very small, round, bright core. Located 30' ESE of mag 5.2 89 Piscium.

300/350mm - 13.1" (8/24/84): fairly bright, small, round, small bright core. Forms a pair with NGC 470 6' W. NGC 467 lies 15' SW and NGC 479 is 30' NE.

600/800mm - 24" (1/12/13): bright, very large with a huge very low surface brightness halo, extending roughly 4'x3.5' NW-SE. Very sharply concentrated with a very bright, slightly oval core, ~1.0'x0.8', which increases to a small intense nucleus. Largest in a trio with NGC 470 5.5' W and NGC 467 16' SW.

900/1200mm - 48" (10/25/14): the outer halo of NGC 474 was examined closely at 375x for evidence of the outer, concentric shells and circular streams that are visible on deep images. Immediately there was a strong sense of arcs from two more different shells. The easiest arc to confirm was the outermost on the eastern side, which curves south from a mag 13.3 star situated 3.3' NE of center. The arc passes through a mag 16.3 star and extends 30°-40°. A second outer arc on the northeast side is half the distance (~1.6') to the center. This arc has a stronger curvature and measures roughly 60°. Only a single outer arc (slightly more difficult to confirm) was noted on the southwest side, 2'-2.5' from center. My rough sketch shows it also curving ~60°. Additional inner arcs or ripples were strongly sensed in the main halo of the galaxy, but too subtle and fleeting to pinpoint locations. The center is sharply concentrated with a very prominent 1' core. The core itself is sharply concentrated to a small, blazing nucleus.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb