William Herschel discovered NGC 5300 = H II-533 = h1669 on 2 Feb 1786 (sweep 521) and recorded "F, vL, vlb about the middle, 6 or 7' long and near 4' broad." JH logged (sweep 143) "vF; vL; lE; vgbM; 2' l, 3' br."

400/500mm - 17.5" (4/28/90): fairly faint, fairly large, oval 3:2 NNW-SSE, 3.0'x2.0', low almost even surface brightness, no distinct edges. A mag 14 star is at the south edge 1.7' from center.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb