John Herschel discovered NGC 1903 = h2825 on 3 Nov 1834 and described as "vB; S; R; gbM; 30"." His position on 5 sweeps (all descriptions similar) is accurate.

600/800mm - 24" (4/5/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): this showpiece cluster is located just 10' SW of the NGC 1910 complex, which contains S Doradus. At 350x, it appeared very bright, ~1' diameter, with a blazing 20" core. Perhaps 20 stars were resolved in the halo at this power with a single brighter star at the edge of the core on the south side. NGC 1916, another bright globular, lies 8' SE. NGC 1903 is situated in a wonderful section of the LMC; panning south and to the west yields field upon field filled with both bright and fainter clusters of all sizes, along with nebulous HII glows.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb