[7] It was discovered by English Astronomer John Herschel on July 3, 1836,[2] and lies close to another cluster, NGC 5823, which suggests there may be a physical association.

[9] It is richly populated[5] with half the cluster members lying within an angular radius of 22.1′.

[4] Measuring the abundances of a set of F-type stars that are probable members demonstrates the cluster metallicity is very similar to the Sun.

[5] It displays an extended main sequence turnoff on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, most likely due to differences in stellar rotation.

[3] Two barium stars have been identified in NGC 5822, making it only the second cluster shown to host these objects as of 2013.