William Herschel discovered NGC 4985 = H III-654 = h1539 on 9 Apr 1787 (sweep 725) and logged "vF, vS, lbM." JH made the single observation "vF; vS; R; 10"." and measured a fairly accurate position.

400/500mm - 18" (7/1/03): faint, small, irregularly round, 0.6'x0.5', moderate concentration to a brighter core. A mag 14 star lies 2' ESE. NGC 4963 lies 26' W.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb