John Herschel discovered NGC 88 = h2317 (along with NGC 87, 89 and 92) on 30 Sep 1834 and recorded "eF, vS, R, 2nd of 4, in centre of gravity of the others.".

600/800mm - 30" (11/4/10 - Coonabarabran, 429x): faint, small, slightly elongated NW-SE, very small bright core. An extremely faint star is attached at the SW end. This galaxy is the faintest in the Phoenix Quartet (Rose 34) and centered in an equilateral triangle of galaxies with NGC 87 1.5' NW, NGC 92 1.9' NE and NGC 89 1.5' S.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb