John Herschel discovered NGC 7151 = h3896 on 8 Jul 1834 and recorded "eF; mE; vgbM; rather wedge-formed; ? if not binuclear." His position (measured on 3 sweeps) is fairly accurate.

600/800mm - 30" (10/9/15 - OzSky): at 394x; moderately bright and large, elongated 5:2 ~WSW-ENE, 2.0'x0.8' . There are no well defined brightness zones but the appearance is unusual; very mottled and knotty with an odd shape. It is brighter on the west side and wider, seeming to taper on the northeast end. A stellar knot [apparently an HII region, though perhaps a compact companion] is on the southeast side of the galaxy. In addition, a couple of stars are superimposed; a mag 14.5 star is at the northwest edge and a mag 16 star is place symmetrically on the south side [28" SW of center].

Notes by Steve Gottlieb