John Herschel discovered NGC 1987 = h2885 on 3 Nov 1834 and recorded "vF; L; irreg R; 3 B st precede." His position and description is accurate.

600/800mm - 30" (10/15/15 - OzSky): at 303x; moderately bright and large, roundish with a slightly irregular halo, lively but only a couple of mag 16-16.5 stars are resolved around the edges. Three bright stars in the field to the west: a mag 10.7 star 2.1' SW, a mag 9.5 star 3' W and a mag 10.5 star 5' WNW.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb