Édouard Stephan discovered NGC 5972 = St XI-37 on 29 Jun 1880.

400/500mm - 17.5" (5/27/00): faint, small, round, 0.4' diameter, weak concentration. Based on DSS image, I viewed the brighter core and missed very faint extensions N-S. Sandwiched between a mag 12 star 1.4' NW and a mag 13 star 1.0' SE. Also collinear is a mag 14 star 2.6' NE.

600/800mm - 24" (7/28/19): at 322x; fairly faint, fairly small, oval 3:2 N-S, 30"x20". Contains a round, small bright core that increases gradually to the center. The halo has a low surface brightness and shows best with averted vision. A mag 12.2 star is 1.4' NW and a mag 13.3' star is 1' ESE. IC 1130 lies 21' NW and NGC 5977 is 25' ENE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb