William Herschel discovered NGC 5631 = H I-236 = h1820 on 17 Apr 1789 (sweep 924) and recorded "vB, S, R, irr Br Nucl." John Herschel made two observations (first on 1 May 1831) and measured an accurate position.

400/500mm - 17.5" (5/27/95): bright, fairly small, round, 1.0' diameter. Sharp concentration with a prominent 20" core that dominates the galaxy. The southern half of the 20' field is oddly devoid of stars (only a few mag 14-15 stars) but contains a number of mag 12-13 stars in the north half of the field.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb