John Herschel discovered NGC 5441 = h1740 on 11 Mar 1828 and recorded "Taken for II.416 [NGC 5440], which it cannot be if the last obs be correct. vF, S." His RA is given to the nearest minute of time and noted +/-.

RNGC, PGC, MCG, NED, LEDA and SIMBAD identify MCG +06-31-053 as NGC 5441. If this is Herschel's object it is certainly one of the faintest, if not the faintest galaxy he discovered. Corwin argues that NGC 5441 is more likely a duplicate observation of[NGC 5440, despite JH's comment, and I agree based on the view through my 24-inch. See Corwin's identification notes.

300/350mm - 13.1" (6/18/85): possibly glimpsed as an extremely faint and stellar glow (uncertain sighting) 5' SE of NGC 5440.

600/800mm - 24" (7/1/16): at 375x; very faint or extremely faint, small, round, 15" diameter, very low even surface brightness. It required averted vision, but once identified I could almost hold the glow continuously with concentration. Located 5' SE of NGC 5440.

Although all modern sources identify NGC 5441 as this galaxy (PGC 50057), the number is more likely a duplicate of NGC 5440.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb