William Herschel discovered NGC 2744 = H III-60 = h551 on 21 Mar 1784 (sweep 181) and noted "vF, S, r. I saw it better with 240 than 157, very near it is a small star." His position is 8 sec of RA east and 1' north of UGC 4757.

John Herschel recorded on 17 Mar 1831 (sweep 334), "vF; R; is south of a coarse double star." R.J. Mitchell, observing with the 72" on 9 Feb 1855, recorded "Neb is vlbM, perhaps lE np sf. It is closely followed by a small star; a few minutes north are 4 stars."

300/350mm - 13.1" (12/22/84): faint, fairly small, slightly elongated NW-SE, diffuse, low even surface brightness. A mag 14 star is just 0.9' E of center. NGC 2749 lies 14' SE.

400/500mm - 17.5" (4/6/02): fairly faint, fairly small. Elongated 4:3 ~WNW-ESE, although the appearance is asymmetric with an irregular outline and faint extensions visible with averted vision only. Weak concentration to an ill-defined core. A mag 13.5-14 star is at the east edge, 53" from center. Located 13' NW of NGC 2749 in a group. Difficult NGC 2745 lies 12' due south.

The DSS image reveals a distorted, (possibly) interacting system with a very faint tidal plume to the north.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb