Andrew Cooper
Jul 12, 2021    Waikoloa, HI (map)
20cm f/6 Newtonian, Cave Astrola @ 76x
Seeing: 6 Transparency: 6 Moon: 0%

Big! Bright! a lovely globular about 15' in diameter with a brilliant concentrated core, resolved, a notable arc of 12th magnitude stars encircle the cluster along the northern margin, the rich orange 30 Oph is 1° east

Andrew Cooper
Jun 23, 2020    Waikoloa, HI (map)
20cm f/6 Newtonian, Cave Astrola @ 61x
Seeing: 6 Transparency: 6 Moon: 0%

Large, bright, fully resolved, modest core, one field west of 30Oph, 3° southeast of M12

Andrew Cooper
May 26, 2006    Gila, NM (map)
46cm f/4.5 Deep Violet

Good sized, bright, fully resolved to a nice blaze at the center, the concentration at the center seems less sharp than some other bright globulars, typical of Messier's Oph globulars, similar in size and brilliance to nearby M9 and M12, always worth a visit, M12 is only a little over three degrees northwest

Andrew Cooper
Jun 6, 1998    TIMPA, Avra Valley, AZ (map)
20cm f/10 SCT

I had forgotten that M10 & M12 were such good globulars, reasonably large, well resolved

Rev. T.W. Webb
May 19, 1885    Hardwick, Herefordshire, England (map)

Bright cluster. h., 11-15 mg. E. of Rosse, tendency to curved branches. A beautiful group lies f; lucida bright orange [30 Oph?].

― Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, T. W. Webb, 1917

John Herschel
Jul 15, 1835    

Globular Cluster; fine, large; round; bright; gradually much brighter toward the middle; diameter 5'; with stragglers, several of which are of large sizes, to about 12' diameter; all resolved into stars of 11th to 15th magnitude, very compressed.

Johann Elert Bode
Aug 14, 1774    Berlin Observatory, Germany (map)

On August 14, 1774, I discovered in Ophiuchus two new nebulae not far from each other. One of them is situated south of 14 Oph, 16 Oph, 19 Oph, and 21 Oph near the western arm, the other below this one and eastward, closely west of 30 Oph. These nebulae appear very pale, and because of this, I found not very reliably the separation to Lambda as 6°7', to the star 14 as 3°50', and to 21 as 3°32'. The other one is separated from the 21st star by 5°32', and by 1°4' from the 30th, as shown in the second figure.

Charles Messier
May 29, 1764    

Nebula, without stars, in the belt of Ophiuchus; near the 30th star of that constellation, of sixth magnitude, according to Flamsteed [30 Oph]. This nebula is beautiful & round; one can only see it with difficulty in an ordinary telescope of 3-feet [FL]. M. Messier has reported on the 2nd chart of the track of the comet of 1769. Mem. Acad. for the year 1775, plate IX. Observed again on March 6, 1781.

― Connaissance des Temps, 1781

Drawings, descriptions, and CCD photos are copyright Andrew Cooper unless otherwise noted, no usage without permission.

A complete list of credits and sources can be found on the about page