William Herschel discovered NGC 3206 = H I-266 = h697 on 8 Apr 1793 (sweep 1038) and recorded "cB, pL, gbM, iF." His position is just off the east side of UGC 5589. On 9 Feb 1831 (sweep 323), John Herschel logged, "vF; L; E; vglbM; 2' l; 1 1/2' br."

400/500mm - 17.5" (4/9/94): faint, fairly large, elongated 3:2 N-S, 2.5'x1.5', broad concentration. A mag 13 star is just off the NNE end 2.1' from the center. A pair of galaxies NGC 3214 and NGC 3220 lie 13' NE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb