John Herschel discovered NGC 7637 = h3984 on 17 Oct 1835 and recorded "vF; pL; R; vlbM; 90"; 2 or 3 stars near it."

600/800mm - 24" (4/12/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 40" diameter, weak concentration, slightly brighter core. A mag 13.5 star is just off the north edge of the halo, 0.7' from the center. PGC 224614, a very faint galaxy, lies 2.3' NW. NGC 7637 is the 4th closest NGC galaxy to the south celestial pole.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb