Williamina Fleming discovered IC 4776 = Fleming 77 on a Harvard objective prism plate taken in 1896 at the Arequipa station.

Based on Crossley photographs, Curtis (1918) reported "No true central star can be made out. It is just distinguishable from a star, with wing in p.a. 24°; the length along this axis is 8". No wing is apparent on the opposite side."

400/500mm - 17.5" (8/2/86): at 105x appears bright and stellar, verified with OIII blinking. Forms a wide 1' pair with a mag 13 star to the south. A mag 11 comparison star for blinking is 6' ESE. Good contrast gain with filter, extremely high surface brightness, estimate V = 11.0. At 286x, a small bluish disc is visible unfiltered. Located 12' ENE of a wide bright double star (7.7/9.5 at 45").

Notes by Steve Gottlieb