William Herschel discovered NGC 991 = H III-434 = h239 on 10 Sep 1785 (sweep 436) and recorded "vF, cL, irr figure, lbM, 4' or 5' long, 2 or 3' broad". His reduced position is accurate. John Herschel simply noted "eF" on 8 Jan 1831 (sweep 318), and his position is 9 seconds of RA too large.

400/500mm - 17.5" (8/31/86): large, diffuse, weak concentration. A mag 12.5 star is 1.5' S of center. Located 40' N of mag 5.5 80 Ceti (V = 5.5).

600/800mm - 24" (11/21/19): at 322x; large, slightly elongated, broad and fairly weak concentration with only a slightly brighter core. Overall, low surface brightness but the halo seems slightly mottled as if a face-on spiral (it is).

MCG -1-7-22, located 33' SSW, was relatively bright, round, 35"-40" diameter, moderate surface brightness, slightly brighter core/nucleus. This galaxy is 11' N of 77 Ceti (V = 5.7).

Notes by Steve Gottlieb