George Johnstone Stoney, Lord Rosse's assistant, discovered NGC 7557 on 16 Sep 1852. Using a freshly polished mirror, he recorded "another neb about 6' p and 1' n of [NGC 7562], pB, vmbM, 40"." R.J. Mitchell found it again on 23 Oct 1857 and noted "a new neb about 4' p[receding] h2224, F, vS, R." His offset is accurate.

400/500mm - 17.5" (8/27/87): faint, small, round, small brighter core. A mag 15 star is 1' S. Located 4.7' WNW of much brighter NGC 7562.

17.5" (11/1/86): faint, small, slightly elongated NNW-SSE, diffuse. Precedes NGC 7562 by 5'.

600/800mm - 24" (1/1/16): faint to fairly faint, small, round, 0.4' diameter, weak concentration to the center. Located 4.6' WNW of brighter NGC 7562. NGC 7557 lies midway between mag 9.4 SAO 128068 9' NW and mag 9.5 SAO 128073 8' SE. Outlying member of the NGC 7619/7626 Group.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb