William Herschel discovered NGC 4701 = H II-578 on 30 Apr 1786 (sweep 558) and noted "F, S." His position matches UGC 7975.
400/500mm - 17.5" (2/28/87): moderately bright, fairly small, oval SW-NE, weakly concentrated. A small trio of mag 13 stars lie 3.5' N (closest pair 21" separation).
Notes by Steve Gottlieb