John Herschel discovered NGC 7781 = h2280 on 16 Aug 1830 and logged "F; S; R; the faintest of 3 [with NGC 7779 and 7778]." WH discovered nearby NGC 7778, 7779 and 7782, but missed this fainter galaxy.

300/350mm - 13.1" (9/29/84): faint at 220x but visible with direct vision. Faint star just at the west edge. At 220x, appears very small, slightly elongated ~N-S.

13.1" (9/9/83): very faint, very small. A faint star is involved.

400/500mm - 17.5" (11/1/86): fourth brightest of five in the NGC 7782 group. Fairly faint, very small, bright core, elongated WNW-ESE. A mag 14.5 star is at the west edge of the core just 12" from the center. Located 4.8' ESE of NGC 7779 and 6.9' SSW of NGC 7782.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb