From Steve Gottlieb's NGC/IC Notes
http://adventuresindeepspace.com/steve.ngc.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_..._astronomer%29
NGC 362
James Dunlop discovered NGC 362 = D 62 on 1 Aug 1826. He described "a beautiful bright round nebula, about 4' diameter, exceedingly condensed. This is a good representation of the 2nd of the Connaissance des Temps [M2] in figure, colour, and distance; it is but a very little easier resolved, rather a brighter white, and perhaps more compact and globular. This is a beautiful globe of white light; resolvable; the stars are very little scattered." He observed the globular 11 times (sketched in Figure 3 of his catalogue) and his published position was 2' NE of center.
NGC 1261
James Dunlop discovered NGC 1261 = D 337 = h2517 on 28 Sep 1826 with his 9" reflector from Parramatta, NSW. He described (based on two observations) "a very bright round nebula, about 1.5' diameter, pretty well defined and gradually bright to the centre. A small star north following." No mention was made of resolution in either of his two observations, though it might have been possible at high power (brightest stars mag 13.5).
NGC 1851
James Dunlop discovered NGC 1851 = D 508 = h2777 on 10 May 1826. His summary decription (based on 5 observations) reads, "exceedingly bright, round, well-defined nebula, about 1.5' diameter, exceedingly condensed, almost to the very margin. This is the brightest small nebula that I have seen. I tried several magnifying powers on this beautiful globe; a considerable portion round the margin is resolvable, but the compression to the centre is so great that I cannot reasonably expect to separate the stars. I compared this with the 68 Conn. des Tems, and this nebula greatly exceeds the 68 in condensation and brightness."
NGC 2298
James Dunlop discovered NGC 2298 = D 578 = h3065 on 8 May 1826 and described (based on 6 observations) "a pretty bright round nebula, 3' or 4' diameter, moderately condensed to the centre. This is resolvable into stars." His handwritten notes also mentions the "nebula is preceding a star of the 6th magnitude 1 minute 40 seconds (of RA) and 15' north of the star", perfectly matching HD 50445.
NGC 2808
James Dunlop discovered NGC 2808 = D 265 = h3152 on 7 May 1826 and recorded "a very bright round nebula, about 3' or 4' diameter, very gradually bright to the centre. This has a fine globular appearance." His handwritten notes also mention "preceding a small star", which probaby applies to the mag 10.6 star off the east side. His single position was 20' too far NW.
NGC 3201
James Dunlop discovered NGC 3201 = D 445 = h3238 on 1 May 1826. He took detailed notes on 5 nights with a summary description "pretty large, pretty bright round nebula, 4' or 5' diameter, very gradually condensed towards the centre, easily resolved into stars; the figure is rather irregular, and the stars are considerably scattered on the south preceding side: the stars are also of slightly mixed magnitudes."
NGC 4372
James Dunlop discovered NGC 4372 = D 67 = h3390 on 30 Apr 1826, with additional observations on 9 May and 4 Jun. His lengthy description (mostly from 4 Jun) reads "a star of the 6th magnitude, with a beautiful well-defined milky ray proceeding from it south following; the ray is conical, and the star appears in the point of the cone, and the broad or south following extremity is circular, or rounded off. The ray is about 7' in length, and nearly 2' in breadth at the broadest part, near the southern extremity. With the sweeping power this appears like a star with a very faint milky ray south following, the ray gradually spreading in breadth from the star, and rounded off at the broader end. But with a higher power it is not a star with a ray, but a very faint nebula, and the star is not involved or connected with it: I should call it a very faint nebula of a long oval shape, the smaller end towards the star; this is easily resolvable into extremely minute points or stars, but I cannot discover the slightest indications of attraction or condensation towards any part of it. I certainly had not the least suspicion of this object being resolvable when I discovered it with the sweeping power, nor even when I examined it a second time; it is a beautiful object, of a uniform faint light." Dunlop's position is 24' too far WNW (a fairly large error), but the mag 6.6 star near the NW edge clinches the identification. His sketch is shown in Fig. 2 of his catalogue.
NGC 5286
James Dunlop discovered NGC 5286 = D 388 = h3533 on 29 Apr 1826, his second night recording deep sky objects. The same night he also recorded NGC 4945 and Centaurus A. Based on 6 observations his summary description reads, "a bright exceedingly well-defined rather elliptical nebula, about 1' diameter, exceedingly condensed almost to the very edge, and gradually a little brighter to the centre. This is about 6' north of M Centauri - I have a strong suspicion that this is resolvable into stars."
NGC 5824
James Dunlop made the first observation of NGC 5824 on 10 May 1826, though he was not credited in the NGC or IC. He described D 611 (based on 4 observations in May and June) as "a very singular body resembling a star with a burr. The light is equal to that of a star of the 7th and 8th magnitude, and the diameter is not sensibly larger, with various magnifying powers. This has the appearance of a bright nucleus, surrounded by a strong brush of light; and the nebulosity surrounding the bright point has not that softness which nebulae in general possess. I consider this different from nebulae in general." His published position was nearly 30' too far west (though his first position was 15' to the east).
NGC 5927
James Dunlop discovered NGC 5927 = D 389 = h3604 on 8 May 1826. His summary description (based on 8 observations) reads "a very fine round pretty bright nebula, about 3' diameter, gradually brighter towards the centre, and well defined at the margin: this is resolvable. With a power of 260 it has a beautiful globular appearance. The stars are considerably scattered on the south side."
NGC 5946
James Dunlop discovered NGC 5946 = h3607, along with NGC 5927, on 8 May 1826. On a second observation on 26 June he wrote, "a small round faint nebula, about 30" diameter, slightly condensed to the center. A group of small stars south rather following." His rough position was 6 minutes of time following NGC 5927 (the actual value is 7+ minutes). Due to an oversight he missed including it in his published list (there are other examples including NGC 6300 and 1947), so it didn't receive a Dunlop number and he wasn't credited by Herschel (in his Cape catalogue) or by Dreyer in the NGC.
NGC 5986
James Dunlop discovered NGC 5986 = D 552 = h3611 on 10 May 1826. Based on 3 observations he described it as "a beautiful round pretty bright nebula, about 2' diameter, pretty well defined." John Herschel made 2 observations and first recorded on 28 Jun 1834 "globular, fine object, pretty gradually brighter middle, diam 15', composed to distinct stars 13..15th mag, one star 10th mag is eccentric, and 3 of 13th mag in centre nearly." Christian Peters independently found the cluster around 1849 and reported it as new in 1856 (AJ 2).
