William Herschel discovered NGC 6649 = h3751 on 10 Jul 1787 and recorded "a cluster of very small and pretty compressed stars of various sizes; but it seems to be of the same nature with the Milky Way, which is at a little distance towards the south." Because of his uncertainty, he didn't assign it an internal discovery number or list it in his catalogues, but the position is a good match.

John Herschel found this cluster on 27 May 1835 and recorded "cl VIII class; a small well insulated group of a roundish figure, 5' diam; st 12...13 m; one * 9m, at the southern edge." His position is accurate. JH was credited with the discovery in the GC and NGC.

400/500mm - 17.5" (7/1/89): 40-50 stars in a 5' diameter, fairly rich, over unresolved haze. The brightest star is the close double ADS 11441 with components 9.7/11.4 at 4" located at the south edge.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb