John Herschel discovered NGC 7039 = h2107 on 19 Sep 1829 and recorded "a star 6-7m situated just beyond the nf edge of a L, p rich cluster, 11...15m, 20' long, 7' broad. Extended from nf to sp." His position matches mag 6.7 HD 201935 on the northeast side of the cluster.

400/500mm - 17.5" (9/7/91): about 125 stars in a 15'-20' diameter. This is a very large, rich triangular group. Two bright mag 7.5 stars are at the SSW and NNE ends. Also two mag 9 stars are involved. Very rich in mag 12-13 stars. This is a pretty uniform cluster with a sprinkling of brighter stars. Excellent low power Milky Way field using a 20mm Nagler.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb