John Herschel discovered NGC 1399 = h2569 on 22 Oct 1835 and recorded a "globular cluster, vB, pL, psbM, resolvable or resolved, 2'." He also described a few other galaxies in the Fornax cluster as globulars (NGCs 1310, 1379, 1387 and 1436). In 1915, Harold Knox-Shaw reported it was not resolved visually awith the 30-inch Reynolds reflector at the Helwan Observatory.

200/250mm - 8" (10/13/81): fairly bright, round, bright core.

300/350mm - 13.1" (12/22/84): bright, large faint halo is broadly concentrated, brighter core. A star is superimposed 0.3' N of the center. This galaxy is the second brightest and second largest in the core of the Fornax I cluster. NGC 1404 is 10' SE.

400/500mm - 18" (12/17/11): very bright, large, round, 3' diameter. The outer halo has a fairly low surface brightness but the central portion is sharply concentrated with a very bright 35" core. The core continues to brighten significantly to a quasi-stellar nucleus. A star is superimposed less than 20" NNE of center. Brighter of a pair with NGC 1404 10' SSE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb