E.E. Barnard discovered IC 4605 on a plate taken 23 Mar 1895 with the 6" Willard lens at Lick Observatory. It's possible he discovered it visually (along with IC 4603 and 4604) as early as 1882 or 1883 with his 5" refractor, although he only claimed "for fully 10 or 12 years [before 1895] I have known of a vast region of nebulosity in Scorpius near Antares.

400/500mm - 17.5" (6/30/00): this section of the Rho Ophiuchi reflection nebula appears as a faint halo surrounding 5th magnitude 22 Sco. A mag 7 companion lies 3.6' SW. As with other sections of the nebula, the surrounding field is strangely devoid of stars and the background has a grayish sheen as if it is feebly glowing. Barnard 44 is a huge dark lane that extends roughly 6° ENE.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb