William Herschel discovered NGC 5147 = H II-25 = h1601 on 24 Jan 1784 (sweep 124) and noted "S, obscure; it seems to be resolvable." CH's reduced position is 30 sec of RA east and 2.5' south of UGC 8443. JH called this galaxy "bright" on sweep 142 and three sweeps later he logged it as "faint".

400/500mm - 17.5" (6/3/00): moderately bright and large, round, 2' diameter. Unusual appearance as a mag 13 star is superimposed very close to the geometric center, masquerading as a bright stellar nucleus. The halo is only weakly concentrated but is irregular in surface brightness with a strong hint of structure. A very faint star or knot is on the SW side and the NE edge of the halo has a hint of spiral structure.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb