John Herschel discovered NGC 1873 = h2801 on 2 Jan 1837 and described as "the third [with NGC 1871 and 1869] of a series of clusters extending to B 922." His position is accurate.

300/350mm - 13.1" (2/20/04 - Costa Rica): very faint, 4 stars resolved over haze, 1.0' diameter. Located 9' S of mag 4.9 Theta Doradus in a series of small clusters including NGC 1871 7' S and a small group just 3' S surrounding a mag 10 star that John Herschel gave as the center for NGC 1869.

600/800mm - 30" (10/12/15 - OzSky): fairly bright, large resolved cluster, 2.5' diameter. Includes a bright mag 11.6 star and 20 or more mag 13 and fainter stars over unresolved haze and nebulosity. Moderate contrast gain with NPB filter. Connected to S-L 326 (see NGC 1869) just 2.8' S and NGC 1871 7.5' SSW. The three star groups are embedded in a 15' star cloud (including associations LH 32/34/36/37/38). Faint stars and unresolved haze extends to the west and north as well as a several brighter mag 11.5-12.5 stars 4' to 6' W. This excellent region is situated 9' S of mag 4.8 Theta Doradus.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb