John Herschel discovered NGC 2659 = h3137 on 3 Feb 1835. His second more detailed description reads "Cluster VII class; p rich, pL, 12' l, 8' br; fig irreg; rather branching stars 11..14th mag, not compressed in middle." Both descriptions give a much larger size than I noted in my observation.

300/350mm - 13.1" (2/20/04 - Costa Rica): bright, compact group with 15-20 stars in a 4' group including five mag 10-10.5 stars and a distinctive brighter pair. This cluster is in the same field as the Vela Supernova Remnant, though I didn't search for filaments in this region.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb