John Herschel discovered NGC 1959 = h2865 on 23 Dec 1834 and recorded "F; vL; vgbM; the third of several whose borders join, forming the group in figure 7, pl IV." His position is fairly accurate.

600/800mm - 24" (4/7/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): this globular is at the southeast corner of a triangle of clusters with NGC 1958 5.5' NNW and NGC 1950 6' WNW. It appears similar to NGC 1950 -- a moderately bright, fairly large glow of ~2' but with a relatively low surface brightness. Appears slightly smaller than NGC 1958. At 346x, a few faint stars are resolved around the edges. Located along the southeast side of the LMC bar, so the background is bright.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb