John Herschel discovered NGC 6221 = h3649 on 3 May 1835 and recorded "pF; L; R; glbM; 80"." On a second sweep (5 Jul 1836), he logged it as a "Globular cluster; pB; pL; R; gbM; 2 1/2' dia; barely resolvable."

400/500mm - 18" (7/8/02 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): fairly bright, fairly large, slightly elongated N-S, ~2.5'x2.0', broad concentration to a small brighter core. I was surprised there was a strong impression of a spiral arm along the west side of the halo extending to the north. A very small knot was seen at the northern end, probably within this spiral arm. Brightest in a group with NGC 6215 19' NW. Located 25' SE of mag 3.8 Eta Arae in a rich Milky Way field.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb