John Herschel discovered NGC 4936 = h3456 on 6 May 1834 and recorded "pB; R; S; bM; 15"; has a * 6 seconds following." His position and description matches ESO 443-047 = PGC 45174.

Brightest in a group of at least 12 members (Sandage 1975b, 1978) including IC 844 12' W with a mean redshift of ~3000 km/sec.

400/500mm - 18" (5/3/11): bright, moderately large, slightly elongated ~N-S, ~1.4'x1.1' , well concentrated with a large very bright core that increases to an intense nucleus. A mag 12 star is 1.3' E of center.

Brightest in a group with ESO 443-055 7.5' ENE, ESO 443-043 10' NNW and IC 844 13' W. ESO 443-055 appeared very faint, very small, roundish, ~20"x15", Requires averted vision to glimpse. A mag 15.3 star is just off the south edge, 35" from center. ESO 443-043 is faint to fairly faint, small, slightly elongated, 25"x20", weak concentration. A pair of mag 14 stars 2.3' and 3' SE are nearly collinear with the galaxy. FInally IC 844 is fairly faint to moderately bright, fairly small, elongated ~2:1 E-W, 30"x15", slightly brighter core.

18" (3/17/07): fairly bright, moderately large, elongated 4:3 NNW-SSE, 1.2'x0.9'. Contains a bright core that is moderately concentrated and a faint halo.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb