John Herschel discovered NGC 7531 = h3975 on 2 Sep 1836 and recorded "pB; S; lE; pgmbM." His single position is accurate.

Pietro Baracchi observed this object on 2 Nov 1885 with the Great Melbourne Telescope and wrote, "B, vmE, gbM, about 2' long and 25" broad - ends indistinct, edges soft. The axis is in a direction n.f. (see diagram). A star 13m follows nebula by 17 seconds and is 18" north of it. Another star 7 mag follows nebula by 40" and is 10" south of it."

300/350mm - 13.1" (9/3/86): moderately bright, fairly small, oval ~N-S, brighter core. Located 7.0' due west of mag 8 SAO 231518. Appears bright for such a low elevation galaxy from Northern California.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb