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Charles Messier; 26th June 1730 - 12th April 1817
Messier was a French astronomer born in Badonviller,
Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France. At the age of 14 he became interested in astronomy, his interest being further spurred
on by an annular solar eclipse on 25th July, 1748, which could be seen from his home town. However, he was to become a comet
hunter, his first being Halley's Comet, erroneously predicted to return sometime during 1757. Whilst hunting for comets, he
frequently came across 'fuzzy patches' which looked as though they might be comets, but weren't.
The first of these 'fuzzy patches' was located
in the constellation of Taurus, and was what we now now as the Crab Nebula, the remnant of an ancient supernova first
observed by Chinese astronomers in 1054. Messier undertook a search for such 'comet-like' objects, and compiled a catalogue,
in order that they should not be mistaken, by himself and others, for comets in the future. The first entry in the catalogue,
named Catalogue of Nebulę and Star Clusters, originally published in three stages, is M1 ( Messier 1 ), the famous
Crab Nebula. There are, in all, 110 such entries, listed in the table below. They are all interesting objects in their
own right. |

|
Messier Object |
Common Names |
Type of Object |
Location |
Magnitude |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
M1 |
The Crab Nebula |
Supernova remnant |
Taurus |
8.4 |
|
M2 |
|
Globular cluster |
Aquarius |
6.5 |
|
M3 |
|
Globular cluster |
Canes Venatici |
6.4 |
|
M4 |
|
Globular cluster |
Scorpius |
5.9 |
|
M5 |
|
Globular cluster |
Serpens Caput |
5.8 |
|
M6 |
The Butterfly Cluster |
Open cluster |
Scorpius |
4.2 |
|
M7 |
Ptolemy's Cluster |
Open cluster |
Scorpius |
3.3 |
|
M8 |
The Lagoon Nebula |
Diffuse nebula |
Sagittarius |
5.8 |
|
M9 |
|
Globular cluster |
Ophiuchus |
7.9 |
|
M10 |
|
Globular cluster |
Ophiuchus |
6.6 |
|
M11 |
The Wild Duck Cluster |
Open cluster |
Scutum |
5.8 |
|
M12 |
|
Globular cluster |
Ophiuchus |
6.6 |
|
M13 |
Great Hercules Globular Cluster |
Globular cluster |
Hercules |
5.9 |
|
M14 |
|
Globular cluster |
Ophiuchus |
7.6 |
|
M15 |
|
Globular cluster |
Pegasus |
6.4 |
|
M16 |
Part of the Eagle Nebula |
Open cluster |
Serpens Cauda |
6.0 |
|
M17 |
The Omega, Swan or Horseshoe Nebula |
Diffuse nebula |
Sagittarius |
7.0 |
|
M18 |
|
Open cluster |
Sagittarius |
6.9 |
|
M19 |
|
Globular cluster |
Ophiuchus |
7.2 |
|
M20 |
The Trifid Nebula |
Diffuse nebula |
Sagittarius |
8.5 |
|
M21 |
|
Open cluster |
Sagittarius |
5.9 |
|
M22 |
|
Globular cluster |
Sagittarius |
5.1 |
|
M23 |
|
Open cluster |
Sagittarius |
5.5 |
|
M24 |
Milky Way Patch |
Star cloud |
Sagittarius |
4.5 |
|
M25 |
|
Open cluster |
Sagittarius |
4.6 |
|
M26 |
|
Open cluster |
Scutum |
8.0 |
|
M27 |
The Dumbbell Nebula |
Planetary nebula |
Vulpecula |
8.1 |
|
M28 |
|
Globular cluster |
Sagittarius |
6.9 |
|
M29 |
|
Open cluster |
Cygnus |
6.6 |
|
M30 |
|
Globular cluster |
Capricornus |
7.5 |
|
M31 |
The Andromeda Galaxy |
Spiral galaxy |
Andromeda |
3.4 |
|
M32 |
Satellite galaxy of M31 |
Elliptical galaxy |
Andromeda |
8.2 |
|
M33 |
The Triangulum Galaxy |
Spiral galaxy |
Triangulum |
5.7 |
|
M34 |
|
Open cluster |
Perseus |
5.2 |
|
M35 |
|
Open cluster |
Gemini |
5.1 |
|
M36 |
|
Open cluster |
Auriga |
6.0 |
|
M37 |
|
Open cluster |
Auriga |
5.6 |
|
M38 |
|
Open cluster |
Auriga |
6.4 |
|
M39 |
|
Open cluster |
Cygnus |
4.6 |
|
M40 |
Winnecke 4 |
Double Star |
Ursa Major |
8.0 |
|
M41 |
|
Open cluster |
Canis Major |
4.5 |
|
M42 |
The Great Orion Nebula |
Diffuse nebula |
Orion |
4.0 |
|
M43 |
Part of the Orion Nebula |
Diffuse nebula |
Orion |
9.0 |
|
M44 |
The Beehive Cluster, Praesepe |
Open cluster |
Cancer |
3.1 |
|
M45 |
"The Pleiades or The Seven Sisters |
Open cluster |
Taurus |
1.2 |
|
M46 |
|
Open cluster |
Puppis |
6.1 |
|
M47 |
|
Open cluster |
Puppis |
4.4 |
|
M48 |
|
Open cluster |
Hydra |
5.8 |
|
M49 |
|
Elliptical galaxy |
Virgo |
8.4 |
|
M50 |
|
Open cluster |
Monoceros |
5.9 |
|
M51 |
The Whirlpool Galaxy |
Spiral galaxy |
Canes Venatici |
8.1 |
|
M52 |
|
Open cluster |
Cassiopeia |
6.9 |
|
M53 |
|
Globular cluster |
Coma Berenices |
7.7 |
|
M54 |
|
Globular cluster |
Sagittarius |
7.7 |
|
M55 |
|
Globular cluster |
Sagittarius |
7.0 |
|
M56 |
|
Globular cluster |
Lyra |
8.2 |
|
M57 |
The Ring Nebula |
Planetary nebula |
Lyra |
9.0 |
|
M58 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Virgo |
9.8 |
|
M59 |
|
Elliptical galaxy |
Virgo |
9.8 |
|
M60 |
|
Elliptical galaxy |
Virgo |
8.8 |
|
M61 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Virgo |
9.7 |
|
M62 |
|
Globular cluster |
Ophiuchus |
6.6 |
|
M63 |
Sunflower galaxy |
Spiral galaxy |
Canes Venatici |
8.6 |
|
M64 |
Blackeye galaxy |
Spiral galaxy |
Coma Berenices |
8.5 |
|
M65 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Leo |
9.3 |
|
M66 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Leo |
9.0 |
|
M67 |
|
Open cluster |
Cancer |
6.9 |
|
M68 |
|
Globular cluster |
Hydra |
8.2 |
|
M69 |
|
Globular cluster |
Sagittarius |
7.7 |
|
M70 |
|
Globular cluster |
Sagittarius |
8.1 |
|
M71 |
|
Globular cluster |
Sagitta |
8.3 |
|
M72 |
|
Globular cluster |
Aquarius |
9.4 |
|
M73 |
|
Open cluster |
Aquarius |
5.0 |
|
M74 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Pisces |
9.2 |
|
M75 |
|
Globular cluster |
Sagittarius |
8.6 |
|
M76 |
The Little Dumbell, Cork, or Butterfly |
Planetary nebula |
Perseus |
11.5 |
|
M77 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Cetus |
8.8 |
|
M78 |
|
diffuse reflection nebula |
Orion |
8.0 |
|
M79 |
|
Globular cluster |
Lepus |
8.0 |
|
M80 |
|
Globular cluster |
Scorpius |
7.2 |
|
M81 |
Bode's Galaxy |
Spiral galaxy |
Ursa Major |
6.8 |
|
M82 |
The Cigar Galaxy |
Irregular galaxy |
Ursa Major |
8.4 |
|
M83 |
The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy |
Spiral galaxy |
Hydra |
10.1 |
|
M84 |
|
Lenticular galaxy |
Virgo |
9.3 |
|
M85 |
|
Lenticular galaxy |
Coma Berenices |
9.3 |
|
M86 |
|
Lenticular galaxy |
Virgo |
9.2 |
|
M87 |
Virgo A |
Elliptical galaxy |
Virgo |
8.6 |
|
M88 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Coma Berenices |
9.5 |
|
M89 |
|
Elliptical galaxy |
Virgo |
9.8 |
|
M90 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Virgo |
9.5 |
|
M91 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Coma Berenices |
10.2 |
|
M92 |
|
Globular cluster |
Hercules |
6.5 |
|
M93 |
|
Open cluster |
Puppis |
6.2 |
|
M94 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Canes Venatici |
8.1 |
|
M95 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Leo |
9.7 |
|
M96 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Leo |
9.2 |
|
M97 |
The Owl Nebula |
Planetary nebula |
Ursa Major |
11.2 |
|
M98 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Coma Berenices |
10.1 |
|
M99 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Coma Berenices |
9.8 |
|
M100 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Coma Berenices |
9.4 |
|
M101 |
The Pinwheel Galaxy |
Spiral galaxy |
Ursa Major |
7.7 |
|
M102 |
Possible dupe of M101 |
Lenticular galaxy |
Draco |
10.0 |
|
M103 |
|
Open cluster |
Cassiopeia |
7.4 |
|
M104 |
The Sombrero Galaxy |
Spiral galaxy |
Virgo |
8.3 |
|
M105 |
|
Elliptical galaxy |
Leo |
9.3 |
|
M106 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Canes Venatici |
8.3 |
|
M107 |
|
Globular cluster |
Ophiuchus |
8.1 |
|
M108 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Ursa Major |
10.0 |
|
M109 |
|
Spiral galaxy |
Ursa Major |
9.8 |
|
M110 |
Satellite galaxy of M31 |
Elliptical galaxy |
Andromeda |
8.0 |
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