John Herschel discovered NGC 5381 = h3549 on 3 May 1835 and recorded "Cl VIII class; 8' long; 5' broad; stars 12 and 13m [N.B. - it is evident that in this obs, probably from defective weather, the eS stars of this cl were not seen." On sweep 790 he logged "Cl VI; F; rich; high compressed; consists of pL and eS st; fig oblong; 10' l; 7' br; place that of chief * 9m."

300/350mm - 14" (4/3/16 - Coonabarabran, 145x and 178x): NGC 5381 is a fairly rich cluster in a superb Milky Way field. Roughly 75 stars were resolved over unresolved background glow within a 8'x6' region, elongated southwest to northeast, although there was no distinct boundary to the cluster (the surrounding field gradually thinned). The brightest star is mag 9.6 HD 121947 on the southwest end and mag 10.5 HD 121900 is on the west side. Extending the cluster to a 1' group of mag 11-12.5 stars off the northeast side, increases the dimensions to 10'x7'. NGC 5381 is located 54' NNW of Beta Centauri (Hadar)!

Notes by Steve Gottlieb