NGC 5303B = CGCG 218-046, a very faint companion, lies 2.7' S. It appeared very faint, diffuse, slightly elongated E-W. Required averted to view.

William Herschel discovered NGC 5303 = H III-681 = h1672 on 16 May 1787 (sweep 738) and logged "cF, vS, lE." JH made the single observation "pB; S; has two nuclei or involves a double star". His position is just off the south edge of UGC 8725.

On 1 Mar 1851, Bindon Stoney noted "* or nucl in np edge; 2nd vF, 3' south, both E pf". This second galaxy is NGC 5303B = CGCG 218-046, which was accidentally skipped in the GC and NGC.

400/500mm - 17.5" (6/7/97): fairly faint, small, elongated 2:1 E-W. There appears to be a faint star attached at the west side. A faint mag 14-15 pair that lies 4.5' N [18" separation] is collinear with the galaxy.

600/800mm - 24" (6/12/18): at 282x; fairly bright, fairly small, very elongated 3:1 E-W, small bright core. A "star" is superimposed just NW of the core. A mag 10.5 star is 8' NW and a mag 11.0 star is 4.3' NW. On the SDSS this is clearly a starburst galaxy with numerous blue blobs of star formation and the superimposed "star" appears to be a compact HII region.

NGC 5303B = CGCG 218-046, located 2.7' S, appeared faint, fairly small, very elongated 3:1 WNW-ESE, 30"x10", low even surface brightness.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb