William Herschel discovered NGC 2911 = H II-40 = h608 on 11 Mar 178 (sweep 163) and recorded "A nebula between two pretty considerable stars. Brightest in the middle, but not cometic. Faint and perhaps 30" dia, almost R and the extremities of it lose themselves gradually." He swept the field again on 3 Mar 1786 and discovered nearby NGC 2914.

200/250mm - 8" (4/24/82) : faint, small, diffuse.

300/350mm - 13.1" (4/29/84): fairly bright, fairly small, round, distinctive small bright nucleus.

400/500mm - 17.5" (2/20/88): moderately bright, fairly small, slightly elongated, bright core, faint stellar nucleus. Brightest in a group with NGC 2914 4.8' SE and UGC 5093 8.1' SSE. Forms a close pair with PGC 27167 1.3' ENE (misidentified as NGC 2912 in RNGC, PGC and Megastar). In Lowrey's 48", PGC 27167 appeared faint, small, round, low even surface brightness, 15"-18" diameter. A mag 16.1 star is 26" E.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb