William Herschel discovered NGC 4476 = H II-123 = h1296 on 12 Apr 1784 (sweep 189) and described "Two [along with NGC 4478] F, S and one B, L nebula [M 87]. His single position matches NGC 4478. On sweep 245, JH recorded "F; R; S; bM."

300/350mm - 13.1" (5/14/83): faint, elongated, weak concentration.

400/500mm - 17.5" (5/23/87): fairly faint, small, elongated SSW-NNE, small brighter core. Forms a pair with NGC 4478 4.7' ESE. Located 12' W of M87 in the Virgo cluster.

600/800mm - 24" (5/29/14): moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 2:1 SSW-NNE, 28"x14", bright core gradually increases to the center. Fainter of pair with NGC 4478 4.6' ESE. Located 12.5' WSW of M87 in the core of the Virgo Cluster.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb