Francis Leavenworth discovered NGC 1403 = LM 2-375 in 1886 with the 26" refractor at the Leander McCormick Observatory. His RA was 0.2 minutes of time too large and it was corrected in Robert Baker's 1933 "Catalogue of 985 Extragalactic Nebulae in a Region in Fornax and Eridanus".

400/500mm - 17.5" (11/2/91): fairly faint, small, 40" diameter, small bright core surrounded by a very faint halo, almost stellar nucleus. A mag 14.5 star is just off the west edge 30" from the center. A bright wide double star mag 8/10.5 at 30" is located 4' NNE. NGC 1401 lies 20' S.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb