John Herschel discovered NGC 2165 = h376 on 12 Feb 1831 (sweep 325) and noted "a ppor cl 7' length, 3' broad; about a dozen stars 11m." There is a very scattered group of brighter stars on the DSS at Herschel's position with the fields to the west lacking in stars. Karl Reinmuth, using a Heidelberg plate, described a "Cl, P, 20-25 st 11...". RNGC classifies this object as nonexistent (Type 7).
400/500mm - 17.5" (3/1/03): Roughly a dozen stars in a 6'x4' group at 100x. Extended E-W except for a few stars which tail off towards the north on the following end. Nine of the stars in the group are fairly evenly distributed and similar in magnitude (10.5-11). No concentration or dense spots and appears to be an asterism. Listed as a nonexistent cluster in the RNGC.
Notes by Steve Gottlieb