James Dunlop discovered NGC 6005 = D 334 = h3615 on 8 May 1826 and described "a faint round nebula, about 1.5' diameter, very slightly bright towards the centre. A small star is south, rather preceding the nebula, and Iota Normae is south following." His position is 15' east of the cluster.

JH first observed the cluster on 9 Jul 1834 and recorded "a milky way cluster; but so densely concentrated as to merit as a fine cluster VI class; irregularly round, gbM, stars 11..15th mag." On a second sweep he noted "cluster, small, irregularly round, gbM, a group or rather a small oval pretty much compressed cluster of stars 16..17th mag. A few = 15th mag."

300/350mm - 14" (4/5/16 - Coonabarabran, 178x): ~40 stars mag 13 and fainter in a small group, roughly 4' in diameter. Stands out well in the field. A wide pair of mag 10.5 stars [~27" separation] is off the southwest side. The cluster is pretty rich, with many stars arranged in two intersecting strings. A thin, winding chain of stars extends N-S through the center. A second strip of stars bisects this chain, angling WNW to ESE. The central 45" of the cluster is fairly dense, with ~15 stars packed into this region.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb