At 105x with an OIII filter, M 1-31 appeared as a faint but easy stellar object, estimate V = 14.5-14.8. It was just visible unfiltered and the filter provided an excellent contrast gain.

John Herschel discovered NGC 6469 = h3711 on 27 Jun 1837 and recorded "a pretty rich insulated milky way cluster; place of a coarse double star in it. The milky way hereabouts is very poor."

400/500mm - 17.5" (8/27/92): 75 stars in a 15'x10' scattered region. Bordered by two brighter rows of stars oriented SSW-NNE and WNW-ESE that intersect at a mag 10 star in the west corner of the cluster. A close faint double star is just east. At the end of the ESE string is a wide double star (h4990 = 9.5/11 at 23"). Between the two strings the cluster extends north forming a triangular outline and consists mainly of mag 13 stars except for three mag 10-11 stars at the east boundary. The planetary nebula M1-31 is located near the west edge of NGC 6469!

Notes by Steve Gottlieb