Messier 14 (M14)

Messier 14 is a globular cluster—a group of tens to hundreds of thousands of stars gravitationally bound to each other—in the Ophiuchus constellation approximately 29,000 light years away.

M14 is somewhat unusual in that a nova—an erupting star—was photographed inside it in 1938. This was only the second globular cluster known to have experienced this. Also, M14 contains a very rare carbon star discovered in 1997. Most stars present a surface of almost entirely hydrogen. But in extremely rare circumstances, perhaps due to gravitational interactions or other forces stripping the surface layers away and exposing carbon that has built up near the core

M14 Facts

Distance: 29,000 light years

Number of stars: 150,000

Diameter: 100 light years

Age: 13 billion years