John Herschel discovered NGC 5781 = h1886 on 11 May 1831 and recorded "F; S; R; bM; has a * 16m sp near." His position is accurate.

400/500mm - 17.5" faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 SW-NE, 1.0'x0.6'. A mag 15.5-16 star is right at the south edge (~30" from center) and another mag 15 star is 51" SW of center, on line with the major axis.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb