Lewis Swift discovered NGC 6786 = Sw. V-90 on 3 Oct 1886 and recorded "eeF; S; R; south-preceding of and near 2 stars." His position and description is an excellent match. Herbert Howe, observing with the 20-inch refractor in Denver in 1899-00, commented "the 2 stars north-following are of mag 10. The nearer one follows 11 seconds, 1.0' north. The more distant is very nearly north of the nebula, at a distance of about 2'. The NGC description is "eeF", but the nebula appears to be only "F"."

400/500mm - 17.5" (7/9/88): fairly faint, small, slightly elongated, small bright core. Two mag 12 stars are 1.8' N and 1.2' NE of center. The mag 12 star just 1.2' NE is superimposed directly on the center of UGC 11415, so the halo was not visible.

600/800mm - 24" (7/23/14): using 200x and 375x, appeared moderately bright and large, slightly elongated N-S, 0.6'x0.45', contains a small bright core. A mag 12.2 star is 1.8' N and a similar star is 1.2' NE.

NGC 6786 forms a close pair with UGC 11415, but the core of UGC 11415 is nearly hidden behind the glow of the mag 12 star close northeast. A very low surface brightness halo is just visible. With careful viewing, a small portion of the core is a bit more evident close northeast of the star.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb