Lewis Swift discovered NGC 6230 = Sw. IV-40 on 3 Jul 1886 and recorded "eeeF; pS; R; between a distant B * following and a distant F * preceding; ee diff." His position is 4 seconds of RA west and 1' north of UGC 10575 and his description matches the field. Swift apparently missed the small companion 1' west.

400/500mm - 17.5" (7/1/89): very faint, extremely small, round. A mag 15 star is off the south edge. NGC 6234 lies 22' SE.

600/800mm - 24" (6/12/15): at 375x; faint, small, round, 18" diameter. A mag 14.5 star is at the southeast edge. A wide pair of mag 14.1/14.9 stars is less than 1' NW. Located 5' W of mag 9 HD 152087. Member of a small group with NGC 6234 with light-travel time of ~430 million years.

Forms a close pair with PGC 214543 1' W. The companion (identified in NED as NGC 6104 NED01) appeared very faint to faint, small, round, 15" diameter, low surface brightness but not difficult. The components have a similar redshift though there is no obvious evidence of interaction.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb