[2] Its discovery and first description was realized by William Herschel in October 25th, 1785[3] and the findings made public through his Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, published in 1786.

Due to its diameter, declination and inclination, NGC 864 was selected in 2012 by a group of astronomers working at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory as an object for kinematics study.

Besides collecting data to help understand NGC 864's morphology, the objective of the project was to develop a method of flux-calibration for the new GHαFaS system on the William Herschel Telescope.

[4] Using ACAM and GHαFaS to produce high spectral resolution Hα images of NGC 864, and integral-field spectrograph data, astronomers were able to determine its bar presents bright regions of massive star formation at the ends, where two asymmetric arms arise.

The data showed the interstellar medium to be symmetric in velocity, but asymmetric in intensity, suggesting the possibility of its asymmetry being the result of an internal dynamical instability unlikely.