John Herschel discovered NGC 418 = h2385 on 27 Sep 1834 and logged "not vF, pL, R, gbM, 60"." On a later sweep he noted "F, R, vglbM, 40", the preceding of two [with NGC 423]." His mean position is accurate.

400/500mm - 17.5" (11/6/93): very faint, slightly elongated, fairly small, 1.2' diameter, low surface brightness though slight broad concentration, gradually fades into the background. A mag 14 star is 2' S. Located 7' S of a mag 10 star.

600/800mm - 24" (11/7/18): at 200x; fairly faint, large, very diffuse, 2' diameter, low surface brightness. Broad concentration with a slightly brighter core region. The visual brightness profile corresponded with a face-on spiral and this was verified afterwards on the DSS. IC 1637 lies 14' SSE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb