Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 4865 on 22 Apr 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. His single position is 5 seconds of time too far west, but his offset of 12.6 seconds of time from mag 7 HD 112887 is accurate. Hermann Kobold measured an accurate position in 1895 (published in 1907)

300/350mm - 13.1" (5/14/83): very faint, small. Located 3' NW of a mag 7 star in AGC 1656. NGC 4860 lies 3' NW.

400/500mm - 17.5" (4/21/90): faint, small, slightly elongated. Located in the core of AGC 1656 3.1' WNW of mag 7.1 SAO 82595 which detracts from viewing. Nearby are MCG +05-31-063 1' SW and NGC 4860 4.2' NW.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb