R.J. Mitchell discovered NGC 2490 on 14 Feb 1857 with Lord Rosse's 72" and recorded "I suspect Alpha to be h477 [NGC 2492], F, S, R, lbM. Beta is a vS, F patch, a star following closely." The sketch and description clearly established Beta as NGC 2490 = CGCG 148-080 = PGC 22382. On 14 Feb 1877, Dreyer recorded "vF, vS, R, *13m 1' foll. Pos 320.6°, Dist 243.7" [from[NGC 2492].

400/500mm - 17.5" (2/20/88): very faint, very small, round, even surface brightness. A mag 13.5 star is just 0.7' E. Located 4.0' NW of brighter NGC 2492.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb