John Herschel discovered NGC 6943 = h3838 on 27 Jun 1835 and recorded "pF; L; mE; vgbM; 3 1/2' l; 1 1/2' br; has a barely perceptible point in the middle."

600/800mm - 30" (11/5/10 - Coonabarabran, 264x): bright, large, elongated ~5:2 NW-SE, 3.5'x1.5', sharply concentrated with a very small bright elongated core. Spiral structure is evident in the halo, though I couldn't trace distinct arms. A mag 9.5 star lies 5' NE. Located 26' W of mag 5.4 Sigma Pavonis (2' pair with mag 7 HD 197569). IC 5052, a beautiful thin edge-on, lies 43' SE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb