Lewis Swift discovered NGC 7305 = Sw. IV-84 on 1 Sep 1886 and recorded "eF; S; R; in center of 4 F stars in form of a rhombus." His position is fairly accurate.

400/500mm - 17.5" (8/20/88): very faint, very small, round, small bright core. A mag 15 star is 30" N. Located between two stars mag 13.5 1.6' NW and 2.1' E.

600/800mm - 24" (12/1/16): at 260x; fairly faint, fairly small, roundish, ~24" diameter, small bright core, diffuse halo. A mag 15.7 star is 40" N of center.

The blazar CTA 102, located 5.6' ENE, was near the maximum of a historic outburst. It appeared marginally brighter than a mag 12.9 star on the AAVSO chart, so perhaps mag 12.7 or 12.8. This is 4.5 magnitudes brighter than its normal quiescent state. At z = 1.037, the light-travel time is ~8 billion years. This is certainly the most distant object in recorded times to be visible in a 6" scope.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb