John Herschel discovered NGC 4978 = h1535 on 23 Mar 1827 and recorded "vF; R; sbM; stellar." His mean position (two observations) is accurate. d'Arrest observed it at Copenhagen in 1861 with the 11" refractor and noted it was between two stars [NW and SE].

400/500mm - 18" (4/29/06): fairly faint, elongated 2:1 NNW-SSE, 0.7'x0.3', weak concentration. A faint stellar nucleus was intermittently visible in moments of better seeing. Forms the vertex of a flat isosceles triangle with two mag 13 stars 2' S and 2' NW.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb