John Herschel discovered NGC 2417 = h3087 on 8 Mar 1836 and recorded "vF, L, R, gbM, resolvable. Is no doubt a very distant cluster of 6th class." His position matches ESO 123-15 = PGC 21155.

600/800mm - 24" (4/4/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at 260x appears bright, large, oval 4:3 or 3:2 WSW-ENE, ~3'x2', broadly concentrated with a large, brighter core. A very faint star is at the south edge of the halo. The galaxy pair IC 2200A and IC 2200B lies 15' SW. This galaxy is at the east end of a group of galaxies including NGC 2381, NGC 2369, NGC 2369A, NGC 2369B and IC 2200/2200A.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb