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The Messier objects are a set of 110 astronomical objects catalogued by the French astronomer Charles Messier in his Catalogue des Nébuleuses et des Amas d'Étoiles ( Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters ). Because Messier was interested only in finding comets, he created a list of those non-comet objects that frustrated his hunt for them.
- Messier 1 (The Crab Nebula) Better known as the Crab Nebula, Charles Messier originally mistook Messier 1 for Halley’s Comet, which inspired him to create…
- Messier 2. Hubble's image of Messier 2 is comprised of visible and infrared wavelengths of light.
- Messier 3. Messier 3 holds more than 500,000 stars.
- Messier 4. Use the bright star, Antares, to help you find Messier 4.
Charles Messier (French: [ʃaʁl me.sje]; 26 June 1730 – 12 April 1817) was a French astronomer. He published an astronomical catalogue consisting of 110 nebulae and star clusters , which came to be known as the Messier objects , referred to with the letter M and their number between 1 and 110.
Apr 8, 2024 · Charles Messier (born June 26, 1730, Badonviller, France—died April 12, 1817, Paris) was a French astronomer who was the first to compile a systematic catalog of nebulae and star clusters. In Messier’s time, a nebula was a term used to denote any blurry celestial light source.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Crab Nebula (NGC 1952) The Crab Nebula (M1) is a supernova remnant approximately 6,500 light years away in the constellation Taurus. It is the remnant of the historic supernova SN 1054, observed from July 4, 1054, to April 6, 1056.
- NGC 7089. NGC 7089 (M2) is a globular cluster 55,000 light years away in the constellation Aquarius. It has an apparent magnitude of 6.3 and is 16 arcminutes across.
- NGC 5272. NGC 5272 (M3) is a globular cluster 33,900 light years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. It appears almost exactly halfway between Arcturus and Cor Caroli.
- NGC 6121. NGC 6121 (M4) is a globular cluster 7,200 light years away in the constellation Scorpius. It appears only 1.3 degrees west of Antares.
Learn about the Messier catalog, an index of 110 celestial objects that can be observed with a telescope or binoculars. Find out their types, constellations, magnitudes, sizes, distances, seasons and difficulties.
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M15. M3. nebula. star cluster. Charles Messier (born June 26, 1730, Badonviller, France—died April 12, 1817, Paris) was a French astronomer who was the first to compile a systematic catalog of nebulae and star clusters. In Messier’s time, a nebula was a term used to denote any blurry celestial light source.
