William Herschel discovered NGC 5708 = H II-649 = h1859 on 18 Mar 1787 (sweep 718) and recorded "F, E, S, r." On 29 Apr 1788 (sweep 837) he called this nebula "vF, S, E nearly in the meridian [N-S], r." CH's reduced position is 1.7' north of UGC 9430 and the observation is certain.

On 12 May 1828, JH recorded h1855, which he assumed was II-649 and noted "F; S; R." The only object near his position, though, is a mag 14 star 5' northwest of the galaxy. He used this position in the GC and Dreyer copied it for the position of NGC 5704, so WH's number was associated with the wrong object (perhaps a star). The same night JH logged h1859 = NGC 5708, and mistook it as a new discovery.

Reinmuth and Carlson reported NGC 5704 as nonexistent because of JH's misidentification and modern catalogues identify the galaxy as NGC 5708. But clearly, NGC 5704 = NGC 5708. See Corwin's notes for more.

400/500mm - 17.5" (6/27/98): faint, very elongated 3:1 N-S, 1.2'x0.4', weak concentration. A mag 14.5 star is attached at the south tip [38" from center] and a mag 14 star lies 2' NE. UGC 9429 lies 21' S.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb