Lewis Swift discovered NGC 5260 = Sw. I-24 on 6 Apr 1885 and recorded "eF; pL; precedes by 6 sec the middle star in a line north and south." There is nothing at his position, but 30 sec of RA west and 1.7' north is ESO 509-092 = PGC 48371, and his description of the nearby stars clinches this identification. This is a beautiful face-on barred spiral.

400/500mm - 17.5" (6/14/96): faint, moderately large, round, 1.5' diameter, very weak concentration with a low surface brightness. A mag 11 star is just off the following side 1.1' from center. This star is part of a distinctive string of stars running N-S including two mag 13 stars to north and several brighter stars to the south.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb