William Herschel discovered NGC 3147 = H I-79 = h674 on 3 Apr 1785 (sweep 390) and noted "cB, pL, R, mbM. The brightness decreasing very gradually." John Herschel reported on 4 Nov 1831 (sweep 382), "vB; L; R; at first vg, then vs, vsbM."

400/500mm - 17.5" (2/8/91): bright, fairly large, slightly elongated 4:3 NW-SE. Contains a very bright core with a stellar nucleus. There is an impression of a dust lane to the west of the core.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb