James Dunlop discovered NGC 2658 = D 609 = h4017 on 28 May 1826 and described a "small round faint nebula. North of L. Pyxidis". His position is just 3.3' southwest of center (relatively accurate for his positions), so the identication is fairly secure. John Herschel recorded the cluster on 16 Feb 1836 and noted a "Cl class 8; not m comp; not v rich; v irreg fig; 5' diam; st 12.13m." He added the cluster in a supplementary list at the end of the Cape catalogue (h4016 to h4021). Dreyer identified these objects as "h o n" (John Herschel Omitted Object) in the NGC.

300/350mm - 13.1" (2/25/84): 10 stars mag 11-14 resolved over haze in a 7' diameter. A knot or double star is at the north edge. Three mag 11 stars are off the south, southeast and east side but the remaining stars are mag 13-14. Alpha Pyxidis (V = 3.7) lies 35' SSE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb