Truman Safford discovered NGC 7343 = Sf 53 = St VIIIa-23 on 14 Sep 1866. Safford's position is 5' too far south and 7 sec of RA too large. His discovery wasn't published until 1887 (just a position with no description), too late to be credited in the NGC. Édouard Stephan independently discovered this galaxy a decade later on 26 Sep 1876. His micrometric position is very accurate and Stephen was credited in the GC Supplement (6072) and NGC.

400/500mm - 17.5" (8/12/88): faint, small, round, weak concentration.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb