Unlike common globular clusters, NGC 6553 is relatively metal-rich, and there is evidence of at least two periods of star formation.[4] Due to a complex star-forming record, the stars in the cluster are differing in composition, most notably in concentrations of sodium and aluminium.[5]
NGC 6553 is very similar in composition to NGC 6528, suggesting an origin in a similar environment.[6]
^Tang, Baitian; Cohen, Roger E.; Geisler, Doug; Schiavon, Ricardo P.; Majewski, Steven R.; Villanova, Sandro; Carrera, Ricardo; Zamora, Olga; Garcia-Hernandez, D. A.; Shetrone, Matthew; Frinchaboy, Peter; Meza, Andres; Fernández-Trincado, J. G.; Muñoz, Ricardo R.; Lin, Chien-Cheng; Lane, Richard R.; Nitschelm, Christian; Pan, Kaike; Bizyaev, Dmitry; Oravetz, Daniel; Simmons, Audrey (2016), "Two groups of red giants with distinct chemical abundances in the bulge globular cluster NGC 6553 through the eyes of APOGEE", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 465: 19–31, arXiv:1610.06763, doi:10.1093/mnras/stw2739
^Muñoz, C.; Villanova, S.; Geisler, D.; Cortés, C. C.; Moni Bidin, C.; Cohen, R. E.; Saviane, I.; Dias, B.; Tang, B.; Mauro, F. (2019), "The vertical Na–O relation in the bulge globular cluster NGC 6553", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 492 (3): 3742–3752, arXiv:1912.03742, doi:10.1093/mnras/stz3586