William Herschel discovered NGC 5017 = H III-669 = h1553 on 7 May 1787 (sweep 732) and simply noted as "vF". JH made the single observation "vF; R; bM" and measured an accurate position.

400/500mm - 17.5" (4/13/96): fairly faint, round, 1.0' diameter. Well-defined halo with crisp edges. Gradually increases to a nearly stellar nucleus. Overall moderate surface brightness. A well-matched pair of mag 11 stars lies 6' WNW. Located at the SW end of the NGC 5044 group (~40' SW of center of group).

Notes by Steve Gottlieb