M14
NGC 6402
Données de l'Objet
- Désignation du Catalogue
- M14
- Type
- GlobularCluster
- Constellation
- Ophiuchus
- Magnitude
- 7.6
- Ascension Droite
- 17h 37m 36.1s
- Déclinaison
- -03° 14' 45.3"
- Distance
- 30,300 années-lumière
- Taille Angulaire
- 11.7
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À propos de M14
Description
M14 is a moderately bright globular cluster in Ophiuchus, about 30,300 light-years from Earth. It is slightly elliptical in shape and contains several hundred thousand stars in a sphere about 100 light-years across. The cluster is notable for containing an unusually high number of variable stars.
Conseils d'Observation
Located in a relatively barren area of Ophiuchus, about 8 degrees south of M10. It can be tricky to star-hop to without a goto mount. In binoculars it appears as a small, round fuzzy patch. A 6-inch telescope shows a bright, unresolved glow with a concentrated center. Resolving individual stars requires at least 8-10 inches and high magnification due to the cluster's distance. Best observed from June through August.
Histoire
Discovered by Charles Messier on June 1, 1764. He described it as a 'nebula without stars.' It remained unresolved until William Herschel turned his large telescopes on it in the 1780s. A nova was discovered in the cluster in 1938 on photographic plates — it had actually peaked in 1933 at magnitude 9.2.
Faits Amusants
The 1933 nova in M14 was one of only a handful of novae ever observed in globular clusters. The cluster contains over 70 known variable stars. At 30,000 light-years, M14 is one of the more distant Messier globulars visible from mid-northern latitudes.
Photos de la Communauté (1)
Credit: NOIRLAB / NSF / AURA. License: CC BY 4.0. (Wikimedia Commons)
Skybred Feb 28, 2026