James Dunlop probably discovered NGC 4709 = h3428 = D 511? on 7 May 1826 and reported "pretty large faint nebula". His position (single observation) is 6.7' SW of NGC 4709.

John Herschel rediscovered NGC 4709 = h3428 on 7 May 1826 and recorded "pB; R; gbM; 30"." (More nebulae hereabouts.)" His position was 1' too far northeast. Joseph Turner probably discovered nearby ESO 322-102 on 4 May 1880 while observing NGC 4709 with the 48" Melbourne telescope. MCG -07-26-057, a small companion 1' SE, was discovered at the Helwan observatory in 1921, based on a plate taken with the 30-inch Reynolds reflector in 1919-20.

400/500mm - 17.5" (4/7/89): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated ~E-W. Four mag 12-13 stars forming a parallelogram are roughly 4' NE. Located 15' ESE of NGC 4696 within the core of the Centaurus cluster (AGC 3526) and the second brightest member. Forms a pair with MCG -07-26-057 1.2' SE (not seen).

Notes by Steve Gottlieb