John Herschel discovered NGC 1598 = h2646 (along with NGC 1598 = h2647) on 3 Dec 1837 and logged "F, R, bM, 20 arcseconds." His position is accurate.

600/800mm - 24" (11/18/12 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): fairly bright, fairly large, oval 4:3 NW-SE, 1.1'x0.8', broad concentration with a brighter core that gradually increases towards the center. NGC 1598 is the third in the "Carafe" trio with NGC 1595 2.8' SW and ESO 202-023 10' SW.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb