William Herschel discovered NGC 2661 = H III-50 = Big 38 on 19 Mar 1784 (sweep 177) and logged "eF, near a pB star, I had only a distant suspicion of its existence, but 240 confirmed it beyond a doubt and showed it of some considerable extent. It is circular and without a nucleus." There is nothing at his position, but 28 sec of RA west and 1' north is UGC 4584. The "pB star" is 1' west.

In the GC, JH remarked "I find a memorandum to the effect that this neb is lost and was probably a comet, but I cannot recover my authority for the statement. It is described by H. as "of the last degree of faintness," and it is therefore no way surprising that it should not have been again pereceived without some time and trouple bestowed, and in clear weather." Biguordan found this galaxy on 8 Mar 1886 and measured an accurate position. In the remarks section of his second Comptes Rendus list, Bigourdan noted B. 38 was identical to GC 1696 [NGC 2661], which has an error of 28 seconds in RA. Dreyer repeated in the 1912 revision of WH's catalogues that the "RA is 28s too great (Ann. Harv. Coll., xiii, and Bigourdan.)"

400/500mm - 17.5" (3/29/89): fairly faint, small, round, weak concentration. A mag 11 star 1.0' W of center and 30" of the edge of the halo detracts from viewing.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb