Wilhelm Struve discovered NGC 2202 = ∑ 885 = h385 in 1825 with the 9.6" refractor at the Dorpat Observatory and he listed it in his main catalogue of double stars. John Herschel observed this cluster (or asterism) on 2 Feb 1831 (sweep 320) and recorded"The chief of a tolerably neat cluster of large stars." The double star is a 9.1/10.8 pair at 10" separation located at 06 16 51.5 +05 59 47. Karl Reinmuth described the photographic appearance as "Cl, S, R, vP, st 8.5..." with dimensions 6.5'x6.5'. RNGC classifies NGC 2202 as a nonexistent cluster.

400/500mm - 17.5" (2/2/02): fairly distinctive asterism at 100x (20 Nagler), consisting of a bulbous mushroom-shaped ring of about a dozen fairly bright stars with a few others nearby. Within this irregular ring is a nice, mag 9.1/10.8 double (SAO 113671) at 10" separation. Adding to the effect is a straight trail of stars from the double forming a 10' "stem" heading to the NNE and containing a mag 8.7 star (SAO 113677). Listed as a nonexistent cluster in the RNGC.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb