William Herschel discovered NGC 5313 = H II-711 = h1677, along with NGC 5311, on 14 Jan 1788 (sweep 799) and noted "pB, cL, iF." His position is 2' north of UGC 8744 (similar offset as NGC 5311). For some reason, JH assumed h1677 was new and logged "pB; S; E; lbM; the f of 2."

200/250mm - 8" (5/21/82): faint, small, elongated SW-NE, brighter core. Forms a pair with NGC 5311 9' W.

400/500mm - 17.5" (6/7/97): moderately/fairly bright, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, 1.8'x0.9'. The brighter core contains a nearly stellar nucleus with direct vision. Forms a nice pair with NGC 5311 9' W. Member of the NGC 5371 group.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb