William Herschel discovered NGC 2563 = H II-634 = h501, along with NGC 2562, on 13 Feb 1787 (sweep 698) and noted "vF, vS." His RA was 6 seconds of time too large.

400/500mm - 17.5" (2/8/91): fairly faint, fairly small, almost round, halo brightens evenly to a small bright core. Appears similar to NGC 2562 4.7' NW but slightly larger. Member of the Cancer I galaxy cluster.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb