Messier List

In his lifetime Charles Messier was renowned as a 'Comet Hunter', indeed Louis XV of France called him 'my little comet ferret'. Nowadays his fame will forever be related to the catalogue of 109 Deep Space Star Clusters and Nebulae which bears his name. He discovered another comet-like patch in Taurus on August 28, 1758. Evidently, it turned out that this patch was not moving, and was thus indeed not a comet, but a nebula. He measured its position on September 12, 1758, and it later became the first entry in his famous catalog, Messier 1 or M1, this object later turned out to be one of the most interesting objects in the sky, the remnant of the supernova 1054, now commonly called the Crab Nebula. It was also this first discovery of a comet-like nebula which triggered Messier to both looking for comets with telescopes, thus "inventing" comet hunting, a new discipline of astronomy in these days, and to compile his catalog of nebulous objects which might be taken for comets.

Any amateur astronomer who uses a telescope or binoculars will almost certainly learn of the name of Messier. Indeed there are many clubs and societies dedicated to the observation and photography of these objects. It is often seen as a 'right of passage' for an amateur astronomer to have observed them all and by doing so progress from being a beginner to becoming a seasoned observer. Every year at the end of March and into early April many amateur astronomers embark on what is called the 'Messier Marathon'. During this time slot it is possible to observe every single one of the 109 objects in his catalogue beginning at dusk on one day and ending just before dawn on the following day. It is ironic that Messier began his catalogue not to encourage people to seek out and study the objects it contains, but to deliberately avoid what he termed these 'embarassing objects'.

The work of Messier was continued and expanded by other astronomers, particularly William Herschel and his sister Caroline, who produced a catalogue of 2508 new Star Clusters and Nebulae between the years 1783 to 1802. William's son John continued his father's work producing the General Catalogue of Nebulae in 1864, which contained many new objects especially those at more southerly declinations. This catalogue was further expanded by the Danish astronomer John Louis Emil Dreyer who produced the monumental New General Catalogue of 7840 objects published in 1888, and two Index Catalogues containing an additional 5326 objects in 1896 and 1905. Anyone who has a serious interest in the night sky will be always grateful to the 'comet ferret', Charles Messier for compiling his Messier list of some of the finest 'Art de Ciel', objects not to be ignored, but to be observed with a sense of wonder and appreciation.