William Herschel discovered NGC 780 = H III-583 = h184 on 26 Oct 1786 (sweep 626) and noted "vF, vS, E. Resembles 3 faint stars in a line, with vF nebulosity between them." John Herschel logged it on 15 Sep 1828 (sweep 177): "eF; 3 stars in Meridian precede it; the large 10m is 20° sp the nebula." Lord Rosse failed to find this object on one occasion with the 72", but it was confirmed and measured twice by d'Arrest with the 11" refractor at Copenhagen. He noted the 15th mag star off the south end and measured an accurate position used in the NGC.

400/500mm - 17.5" (11/27/92): very faint, very small, round. Two mag 15 stars nearby 0.7' S and 20" E. Lies within a 12' group of stars roughly forming a "Big Dipper" asterism.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb