John Herschel discovered NGC 2116 = h2977 on 30 Dec 1836 and reported "F; S; R. A star 11m precedes." His position from this single sweep is accurate.

600/800mm - 30" (10/14/15 - OzSky): at 394x; bright, fairly small, roundish glow, 0.6' diameter, very mottled and lively with a number of extremely faint mag 16+ stars popping in and out of view. Located 2.2' ESE of a mag 11 star. NGC 2109 lies 16' WSW.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb