Messier 28

Discovered by Charles Messier on July 27, 1764.

Messier: M28.

July 27, 1764. 28. 18h 09m 58s (272d 29' 30") -24d 57' 11"
Nebula discovered in the upper part of the bow of Sagittarius at about one degree from the star Lambda & little distant from the beautiful nebula which is between the head and the bow [M22]. It contains no star; it is round, it can only be seen difficultly with an ordinary telescope of 3.5-foot [FL]. Its position has been determined from Lambda Sagittarii. Observed again March 20, 1781. (diam. 2')

[Mem. Acad. for 1771, p. 446 (first Messier catalog)]
In the night of the 26th to the 27th of the same month [July 1764], I have discovered a nebula in the upper part of the bow of Sagittarius, at about 1 degree from the star Lambda of that constellation, & little distant from the beautiful nebula which is between the head & the bow [M22]: that new one may be the third of the older one, & doesn't contain any star, as far as I have been able to judge when examining it with a good Gregorian telescope which magnifies 104 times: it is round, its diameter is about 2 minutes of arc; one sees it with difficulty with an ordinary refractor of 3 feet & a half of length. I have compared the middle [of it] with the star Lambda Sagittarii, & I have concluded its right ascension of 272d 29' 30", & its declination of 37d 11' 57" south.
[p. 457] 1764.Jul.27. RA: 272.29.30, Dec: 24.57.11.A, Diam: 0. 2. Nebula without star, situated about one degree from the star Lambda Sagittarii, & little distant from the beautiful nebula which is between the head & the bow.

Bode: Bode 58?

A nebula.

Koehler: Koehler No. 2

A very small pale nebula, close to and west above Lambda in the bow of Sagittarius in 2d 30' [Cap] [272d 30'] and 1 1/2 deg southern latitude.

William Herschel

[Unpublished Observations of Messier's Nebulae and Clusters. Scientific Papers, Vol. 2, p. 653]
1799, August 1. It may be called insulated though situated in a part of the heavens that is very rich in stars. It may have a nucleus, for it is much compressed towards the centre, and the situation is too low for seeing it well. The stars of the cluster are pretty numerous.

John Herschel (1833): h 2010.

h 2010 = M28.
Sweep 30 (July 1, 1826)
RA 18h 14m 4.7s, NPD 114d 57m 29s (1830.0) [Right Ascension and North Polar Distance]
Not v B; but v rich, excessively comp globular cl; stars 14..15m; mbM; a fine object.
Not very bright; but very rich, excessively compressed globular cluster; stars of 14th to 15th magnitude; much brighter toward the middle; a fine object.

Smyth: DCXLVIII [648]. M28

DCXLVIII. 28 M. Sagittarii.
AR 18h 14m 41s, Dec S 24d 56'.9
Mean epoch of the Observation: 1836.70 [September 1836].
A compact globular cluster of very minute stars, between the Archer's head and his bow. It is not very bright; and is preceded by two telescopic stars in a vertical line. Messier, who enrolled it in 1764, describes it as a nebula without a star, and seen with difficulty in his 3 1/2 foot [FL] telescope. But Sir William Herschel resolved it, and placed it among the stellar clusters; his son [JH] recommended it as a testing-object for trying the space-penetrating powers of telescopes. [The following phrase is extremely strange here and seems to belong to another object - hf] It lies nearly midway between Beta Ophiuchi and Beta Lyrae, and about half a degree to the north-east of 105 Herculis.

John Herschel (1847): h 3743.

h 3743 = M. 28 = h. 2010.
Sweep 474 (July 29, 1834)
RA 18h 14m 4.6s, NPD 114d 57m 1s (1830.0) [Right Ascension and North Polar Distance]
Glob. Cl.; v B; R; v m comp; g b M, but not to a nipple; diam in RA = 12.0 s; resolved into st 14....16 m; a fine object. Occurs in the milky way, of which the stars here are barely visible and immensely numerous.
Globular Cluster; very bright; round; very much compressed; gradually brighter toward the middle, but not to a nipple; diameter in RA = 12.0 s [3.0']; resolved into stars of 14 to 16 m; a fine object. Occurs in the milky way, of which the stars here are barely visible and immensely numerous.

John Herschel, General Catalogue: GC 4406.

GC 4406 = h 2010 = h 3743 = M28.
RA 18h 15m 55.4s, NPD 114d 56' 30.0" (1860.0) [Right Ascension and North Polar Distance]
!; Glob. Cl.; vB; L; R; geCM; rrr; st 14...16
Remarkable; globular cluster; very bright; large; round; gradually extremely compressed toward the middle [gradually increasing to an extreme compression]; well resolved; stars of 14th to 16th magnitude.

Dreyer: NGC 6626.

NGC 6626 = GC 4406 = h 2010 = h 3743; M 28.
RA 18h 15m 56s, NPD 114d 56.1' (1860.0) [Right Ascension and North Polar Distance]
!, Glob. Cl., vB, L, R, geCM, rrr, st 14...16; = M28
Remarkable, globular cluster, very bright, large, round, gradually extremely compressed toward the middle [gradually increasing to an extreme compression], well resolved, stars of 14th to 16th magnitude.

Curtis

[Descriptions of 762 Nebulae and Clusters photographed with the Crossley Reflector. Publ. Lick Obs., No. 13, Part I, p. 9-42]
NGC 6626, RA=18:18.4, Dec=-24:55. Bright globular cluster 4' in diameter. M. 28. 0 s.n.