John Herschel discovered NGC 5494 = h3560 on 30 Mar 1835 and recorded "pB; L; R; gbM; r. Stars barely seen in the nebula, besides several others about it." His position is accurate.

Lewis Swift found this galaxy again on 22 Feb 1898 and recorded Sw. XI-167 as "F; pS; R; 7 faint stars around it." His position was 7' too far north and Herbert Howe, unable to recover Swift's object at his position, suggested it was identical to NGC 5494. As a result, Dreyer didn't assign an IC designation.

300/350mm - 13.1" (3/17/86): fairly faint, moderately large, diffuse, round, weak concentration. Several mag 14 stars nearby bracket the galaxy to the east and west.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb