Heinrich d'Arrest discovered NGC 953 = St III-7 on 26 Sep 1865 with the 11-inch refractor at Copenhagen. He noted the star 5.5 seconds preceding (1.3' W) and measured an accurate position (3 measures). Édouard Stephan independently discovered this galaxy on 11 Dec 1871 with the 31" reflector at the Marseille Observatory.

400/500mm - 17.5" (12/23/92): faint, small, round, gradually increases to small brighter core. A mag 12-13 star is 1.3' W of center.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb