John Herschel discovered NGC 3869 = h971 on 10 Mar 1826 and noted "F; S; sbM; irreg fig; r." His mean position (2 sweeps) is just off the west side of UGC 6737.

400/500mm - 17.5" (4/25/87): fairly faint, fairly small, very elongated NW-SE, bright core, faint stellar nucleus, pretty galaxy. Member of the NGC 3817-3869 group (USGC U412), which includes HCG 58.

600/800mm - 24" (5/20/20): at 375x; bright, fairly large, very elongated spindle 5:1 NW-SE, ~1.5'x0.3', sharply concentrated with an intense, round core that gradually brightens inward. The disc is relatively thin. IC 727 is 19' WSW.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb