Globular Cluster in Ophiuchus
Most globular clusters are round in appearance, but not Messier 19. Both in photographs and visually through a telescope, this cluster appears distinctly elongated in the north-south direction. It also has a slightly reddish patch on the east (left) side in this image--all the stars in the periphery in that direction have a reddish tone. This is due to gas and dust in the foreground that are dimming the light from those stars and altering their color. In fact, it may be this dimming that makes the cluster appear oblong, because in infrared light (which penetrates the gas and dust), M19 appears more nearly spherical.
M19 is fairly close to the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, about 6,500 light years away from the center, compared to 29,000 light years away from us.
| Magnitude | 7.2 |
| Apparent Size | 14' |
| Distance (light yrs) | 29,000 |
| Right Ascension | 17:02.6 |
| Declination | -26 16 |
| Field of View | 22' x 17' |
Image details: Exposure times of 27 minutes luminance and 15 minutes each of red, green and blue, taken with an SBIG ST-8300M imager and a 14" Meade LX850 telescope at f/8.
July 2018