William Herschel discovered NGC 2998 = H II-717 = h638 on 15 Jan 1788 (sweep 800) and logged "F, pL, iF, lbM." On 19 Mar 1828 (sweep 139), John Herschel recorded "pB; irreg R; bM; resolvable." His position was 12 seconds of RA too far east and 1' too far north. Brightest in a group of faint galaxies which were later discovered with the 72".

400/500mm - 17.5" (2/8/91): fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, weak even concentration. A mag 11 star is 3.0' SW and a mag 13 star 1.9' NNW of center. Brightest in a group including NGC 3006 7' SE, NGC 3008 9.2' E and NGC 3005 6.4' NE.

900/1200mm - 48" (5/14/12): at 488x appeared bright, fairly large, elongated 2:1 SW-NE, ~2.4'x1.2', well concentrated with a large bright core that gradually increases to the center. Weak spiral structure is evident at the SW and NE ends. Brightest in a quartet with NGCs 3005, 3006 and 3008. In addition, MCG +07-20-052 (misidentified as NGC 3002) lies 4.6' ESE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb