John Herschel discovered NGC 7306 = h3948 on 30 Jul 1834 and recorded "vF; S; lE; follows a star 11m in the parallel." His position is accurate. Howe noted in 1900 that "The * 11m p" appears to be of mag 10 and precedes 8 seconds, 0.7' north. The nebula seems brighter near its preceding end."

400/500mm - 17.5" (10/13/90): fairly faint, fairly small, oval 2:1 SW-NE, brighter core. A mag 12 star is 2.0' WNW. Pair with MCG -05-53-015 6' E.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb