William Herschel discovered NGC 6089 = H III-889 = h1949 on 28 May 1791 (sweep 1014) and recorded "vF; S; R; vglbM." John Herschel made the single observation "vF; S; R: bM".

400/500mm - 17.5" (6/24/95): faint, round, 40" diameter, weak even concentration to a slightly brighter core and a faint stellar nucleus. A mag 13 star is 1.7' SW of center. Located 7' ESE of mag 9 SAO 65135.

600/800mm - 24" (7/1/19): at 225x; fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated SW-NE, ~40"x35", appears to have a brighter core/nucleus that is offset to the SW side. The galaxy forms the northern vertex of an isosceles triangle with two mag 13.5/14.5 stars 1.7' WSW and SSW.

At 375x; a contact companion occasionally "popped" on the NE end of the galaxy. The centers are separated by 18".

Notes by Steve Gottlieb