James Dunlop probably discovered NGC 1870 = D 123 = h2799 on 3 Aug 1826 with his 9" reflector at Parramatta and described "a faint ill-defined nebula, 2' diameter." His position, from a single observation, is 9.5' ESE of the cluster. JH independently discovered the cluster on 30 Jan 1835 and logged "B; S; R; glbM; 25." His position (measured on two sweeps) is accurate.

600/800mm - 24" (4/5/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at 200x this cluster appeared very bright, small, round, at most 30" in diameter. The cluster was very grainy and lively at 350x and a few extremely faint stars occasionally popped into view.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb