William Herschel discovered NGC 2796 = H III-296 = h573 on 13 Mar 1785 (sweep 386) and noted "vF, S, R, lbM." His position is 1' south of UGC 4893. John Herschel found this nebula "the faintest conceivable."

400/500mm - 17.5" (4/6/02): fairly faint, slightly elongated, 0.8'x0.6', slightly brighter core, occasional stellar nucleus. A close pair of mag 15 "stars" are 1' WSW of center - one of these is actually the compact galaxy PGC 3088981. A similar galaxy just off the east side of the galaxy was not noted or assumed to be another faint star.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb