Stephane Javelle discovered IC 4370 = J. 3-1290, along with IC 4369 and 4371, on 3 Jul 1896. He described it as "faint, irregular form, 25"-30", gbM, near a mag 14 star." His position is an exact match with HCG 70D = PGC 50138. Curiously, he apparently missed Hickson 70A just 30" S, although the mag 14 "star" in his description probably refers to this galaxy, as there are no nearby stars. UGC, CGCG and HyperLEDA misidentify PGC 50138 as IC 4371.

400/500mm - 17.5" (4/18/98): faintest of three members of HCG 70 viewed with certainty. This object was just glimpsed as an extremely faint "star" just off the north side of the edge-on UGC 8990 = HCG 70A. This "detection" was repeated several times but was much more difficult than 70A.

900/1200mm - 48" (5/12/18): at 488x; fairly faint to moderately bright, fairly small, round, 20" diameter, weak concentration. Situated just 30" N of UGC 8990 = HCG 70A.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb