It was discovered in November 1890 by the American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard, who described it as "a new and comparatively bright round cometary nebula close south and following Merope (23 Tau) ... about 30" in diameter, of the 13 (magnitude), gradually brighter in the middle, and very cometary in appearance.”[3] The British astronomer Charles Pritchard, however, disputed Barnard's discovery announcement, claiming to have discovered it himself on a photographic plate obtained at Oxford on 29 January 1889.

"[5] Burnham further speculated as to whether IC 349 was kinematically related to the Pleiades, suggesting that its proper motion might provide a definitive answer.

[8] This implies an upper limit of 0.15 times the mass of the Sun for a deuterium-burning protostar embedded in the knot, whose existence is further rendered dubious by a lack of emission lines characteristic of pre–Main Sequence stars in its optical spectrum.

[9] Analysis of the nebula's space motion indicate it does not share the velocity and direction of the Pleiades, suggesting a chance encounter between the objects.

[10] IC 349 is now sufficiently close to Merope that its envelope is undergoing disruption by either the star's radiation pressure, a stellar wind, or both.