William Herschel discovered NGC 5894 = H II-763 on 25 May 1788 (sweep 843) and noted "cF, S, E nearly in the meridian [N-S]."
400/500mm - 17.5" (5/2/92): fairly faint, edge-on 5:1 SSW-NNE, small brighter core, thin extensions. Located 5.7' SE of a mag 10.5 star.
Notes by Steve Gottlieb