William Herschel discovered NGC 477 = H III-577 = h100 on 18 Oct 1786 (sweep 618) and noted "vF, pL, lE, lbM." John Herschel reported on 1 Oct 1828 (sweep 183), "eF; S; R vglbM; 15" [diameter]; moonlight."

400/500mm - 17.5" (8/16/93): faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 NW-SE, 1.0'x0.5', weakly concentrated but no core, larger halo with averted. A mag 13.5 star is at the SE edge. Forms a very close pair with MCG +07-03-031 2.3' SW.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb