William Herschel discovered NGC 532 = H III-556 = h119 on 4 Sep 1786 (sweep 581) and noted "vF, mE, about 1 1/2' long; the extent about 15° from the meridian from sp to nf." On 8 Jan 1828 (sweep 118), John Herschel recorded "not vF, L, R, bM, 40" dia." When he compiled the General Catalogue, JH included both his father's and his own observations as separate entries because "the description differ so materially, especially in the particular of extension." Nevertheless, GC 313 = GC 314. Dreyer combined both entries into NGC 532.

300/350mm - 13.1" (8/24/84): fairly faint, thin streak elongated SSW-NNE, slightly brighter core.

400/500mm - 17.5" (10/17/87): fairly faint, fairly large, edge-on 3:1 or 4:1 SSW-NNE, broad concentration. Member of the NGC 524 group with NGC 518 15' W and NGC 524 18' NW.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb