M14

Object Type: Globular Cluster
Scope: C-9.25" SCT; Exposure 50 minutes.

Messier 14 (NGC 6402) is a globular cluster in Ophiuchus, discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. About 30,000 light-years away and roughly 100 light-years across, it holds several hundred thousand stars and shines around magnitude 7.6, within reach of binoculars. It is notably elongated in shape, contains about 70 known variable stars, and hosted a nova in 1938 that was only found decades later on old photographic plates.