John Herschel discovered NGC 3211 = h3242 on 7 Mar 1837 and recorded "planetary nebula, delicate, exactly round, = * 10 mag, a little dim at edges; white; with 320x considerably hazy. In field with at least 150 stars." The next sweep he recorded "perfectly round; very well defined, with a perfectly uniform light, not at all mottled; = a star 10th mag, of which brightness there are 5 or 6 more in the field, and not less than 150 others less bright. Examined by both Mr Maclear and myself with 240x which shows it proportionally magnified; quite round and planetary; a little hazy at the edges, but not more so than is due to the decidedly bad definition of the night, and the imperfect figure of the mirror, which has been injured by careless polishing on too soft a polisher."

300/350mm - 13.1" (2/18/04 - Costa Rica): Picked up unfiltered at 105x as a moderately bright, 15" disc. Good contrast gain with UHC filter. Appears bright, evenly illuminated with a well-defined bluish halo. Appears to float in a beautifully rich Carina star field and centered within a parallelogram of mag 10.5 stars (sides ~9'x7'). Located 1.3° south of the mag 3.4 q Velorum.

400/500mm - 18" (7/8/02 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at 171x and UHC filter this fine planetary appeared as a very bright, round disc, ~15" diameter, crisp-edged with a bluish hue. Good filter response to UHC. The surface brightness was very high and there was a hint of a slightly brighter rim. Set in a rich Carina star field.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb