John Herschel discovered NGC 954 = h2482 on 5 Sep 1834 and logged "F, pL, lE, has a star 8th mag 3' distant S.f." His position (measured on 4 sweeps) and description (the star is 3.5' SE) matches ESO 299-004 = PGC 9438.

600/800mm - 25" (10/16/17 - OzSky): at 244x; moderately bright, moderately large, elongated 3:2 or 5:3 SSW-NNE, ~1.25'x0.8'. Broadly concentrated with slightly brighter core region. Mag 9.4 HD 15612 lies 7.6' ENE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb