Globular Star Cluster Messier 19 | Hubble

Globular Star Cluster Messier 19 | Hubble

This image of Messier 19 (M19) includes Hubble observations taken in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths of light. A small gap in Hubble data (horizontal line at center right) is instead filled in with observations from the ground-based Victor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope. The Hubble proposal associated with this image sought to investigate M19’s formation and the ratios of different populations of stars within the cluster.

M19 was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. The cluster is located 28,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Ophiuchus and is most easily observed during July. It has an apparent magnitude of 7.7 and can be spotted through a pair of binoculars, though it will only appear as a faint patch of light. Large telescopes will resolve M19’s individual stars.

Image Description: "The field is filled with orange, red, yellow, blue, and white stars. They appear as a spherical, dense mass that tapers out toward the edges of the image on a black background."

The stars in globular clusters orbit about a common center of gravity, so these clusters are usually spherical. Some globular clusters, like M19, have a slightly elongated shape. This cluster is only 6,500 light-years away from the center of our Milky Way galaxy, so the gravity and tidal forces from the massive galactic center could be causing M19 to stretch out.

Credits: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), and I. King (University of California–Berkeley)

Release Date: March 21, 2023

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