Lewis Swift discovered NGC 5459 = Sw. VI-64 on 23 Mar 1887 and recorded "pF; S; lE; pB * nr sp." His position is just 5 sec of RA east of UGC 9005 and his description applies. Bigourdan measured an accurate position on 26 May 1894, though Dreyer made a 20 sec recording error in RA in the IC2 Notes.

400/500mm - 17.5" (6/14/96): faint, small, irregularly round, 30" diameter, very weak concentration to the center but no distinct core. Two mag 12 and 13 stars lie 2.0' SW and 3.1' NW, respectively. UGC 9002 lies 25' S.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb