John Herschel discovered NGC 6970 = h3842 on 2 Oct 1834 and recorded "pB; S; lE; gmbM; 18" l." His position is on the west side of the halo.

600/800mm - 30" (11/5/10 - Coonabarabran, 264x): bright, moderately large, elongated 4:3 WNW-ESE, sharply concentrated with a very small, bright core punctuated by a quasi-stellar nucleus. A very faint star is superimposed on the halo. A scattered group of mag 12-14 stars lies 5' S.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb