| Right Ascension | 17 : 37.6 (h:m) |
|---|---|
| Declination | -03 : 15 (deg:m) |
| Distance | 27.4 (kly) |
| Visual Brightness | 7.6 (mag) |
| Apparent Dimension | 11.7 (arc min) |
| Discovered by | Charles Messier June 1st, 1764 |
M14 is a slightly elliptically shaped stellar swarm, about 55 light years across and 23,000 light years away. It lacks a dense central condensation (Burnham), and contains a considerably large number of over 70 variables.
In 1938, a nove appeared in M14, which however was not discovered before 1964, when Amelia Wehlau of the University of Western Ontario surveyed a collection of photographic plates taken by Helen Sawyer Hogg between 1932 and 1963. This nova was visible on 8 plates, taken between June 21-28, 1938, as a 16th mag star. It was the second known nova in a globular cluster after that of 1860 in M80, T Scorpii, and the first one ever photographed.
Globular cluster M14 was the first CCD image taken, according to TheSky advertising.
Close by: Barnards Star
"This nebula is not large, and its luminosity feeble, however it may be seen with a simple three and one half foot (length not diam.) refractor; it is circular." Charles Messier from his Catalogue
Close by: Barnards star.
Courtesy www.seds.org