M14 - NGC 6402

Messier 14 (NGC 6402) is a globular cluster located in the constellation Ophiuchus, approximately 30,300 light-years from Earth. It is one of the more distant and less observed of the Ophiuchus globular clusters, but it is a substantial object in its own right, containing several hundred thousand stars within a diameter of about 100 light-years. The cluster shines at an apparent magnitude of 7.6 and spans roughly 11 arcminutes of sky. M14 was discovered by Charles Messier on June 1, 1764, during his prolific spring campaign of cataloging nebulous objects. The cluster has a moderate concentration, classified as Class VIII on the Shapley-Sawyer scale, and presents a fairly uniform brightness distribution that makes it harder to resolve into individual stars compared to more loosely concentrated globulars. A telescope of at least 6 inches is generally needed to begin seeing granularity around the edges, while the core remains a smooth glow in most amateur instruments. M14 is notable for containing a relatively large number of variable stars, with over 70 identified, including RR Lyrae and other types. In 1938, a nova was discovered on photographic plates taken of M14 in 1938, though it was not recognized until years later when the plates were re-examined. This nova, which reached about magnitude 9.2, was one of only a handful of novae ever observed in globular clusters. The cluster's estimated age is about 13.3 billion years, and studies of its color-magnitude diagram have contributed to our understanding of stellar populations in ancient stellar systems.

Contains several hundred thousand stars spanning about 100 light-years, located approximately 30,300 light-years from Earth at magnitude 7.6.