William Herschel discovered NGC 5308 = H I-255 = h1674 on 19 Mar 1790 (sweep 953) and logged "vB, mE, 3' l and 1/2' br, BENM." JH recorded "pB; S; mE in pos 57.4° by micrometer; psbM; 30" l." and measured an accurate position.

400/500mm - 17.5" (5/30/92): bright, fairly small, almost edge-on 4:1 SW-NE, 1.8'x0.4', very small very bright core, unusually bright stellar nucleus or almost stellar nucleus. Appears as a pretty streak with a high surface brightness core.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb