Messier 19 - The Globular Cluster in Ophiuchus

Messier 19 is a globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus, and it is quite special. Compared to other globular clusters in the Milky Way, it appears elongated in shape. The reason for this elongation is that it lies close to the Milky Way’s central bulge, where strong gravitational forces distort the cluster. Seen from Earth, the cluster has an apparent magnitude of 5.6, making it one of the brighter globular clusters in the Messier Catalog. It is thought to be slightly brighter than observed because a dust lane in the Milky Way lies directly in front of the cluster’s core, dimming its light somewhat. Capturing this cluster was quite the challenge for me, it is one of the lowest Messier objects that I can see from the Netherlands. And because of light pollution in the south, my telescope was not able to guide on stars. So I had to resort to using the tracking feature of my mount. Luckily, it tracks really well, and by using short exposures, the stars maintained their round shape.

I still have to capture Messier 7, which is even lower. I really hope that it is possible to get that one from my location.

I captured this image during a Messier Marathon in August 2025.