William Herschel discovered NGC 3629 = H II-338 = h860 on 6 Apr 1785 (sweep 393) and recorded "vF, pL, r, nearly R, gvlbM." JH made a total of 7 observations with a composite description of "F; L; R; vgbM; 2' dia; *14 m s f 60"."

400/500mm - 18" (3/29/03): faint, moderately large, slightly elongated, 1.2'x0.9', diffuse, low surface brightness, weak broad concentration. A mag 14 star is 1.1' SE of center.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb