John Herschel discovered NGC 685 = h2438 on 3 Oct 1834 and logged "F, vL, R, vgvlbM, 3'.". His position is 1.5' S of ESO 152-024 = PGC 6581.

600/800mm - 30" (11/4/10 - Coonabarabran, 264x): bright, large, slightly elongated ~WNW-ESE, broad concentration with a large brighter core, 3' diameter. Just outside the core, the surface brightness is irregular or mottled and a couple of extremely faint quasi-stellar knots (HII regions) are just visible in the outer halo. There is an impression of spiral structure in the halo, but I couldn't trace the arms.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb