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The Messier catalogue is one of the most famous lists of astronomical objects, and many objects on the list are still referenced by their Messier numbers. [1] The catalogue includes most of the astronomical deep-sky objects that can be easily observed from Earth's Northern Hemisphere; many Messier objects are popular targets for amateur ...
In time, the name was said to be derived from that of a mythical mother, Pleione, effectively meaning "daughters of Pleione". [18] In reality, the ancient name of the star cluster related to sailing almost certainly came first in the culture, naming of a relationship to the sister deities followed, and eventually appearing in later myths, to ...
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.
Charles Messier observed the nebula on March 4, 1769, and he also noted three of the stars in Trapezium. Messier published the first edition of his catalog of deep sky objects in 1774 (completed in 1771). [25] As the Orion Nebula was the 42nd object in his list, it became identified as M42.
It was discovered on May 3, 1764, [10] and was the first Messier object to be discovered by Charles Messier himself. Messier originally mistook the object for a nebula without stars. This mistake was corrected after the stars were resolved by William Herschel around 1784. [11] Since then, it has become one of the best-studied globular clusters.
The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51a (M51a) or NGC 5194, is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ] It lies in the constellation Canes Venatici , and was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy. [ 9 ]
Messier 13 was discovered by Edmond Halley in 1714, [2] and cataloged by Charles Messier on June 1, 1764, [9] into his list of objects not to mistake for comets; Messier's list, including Messier 13, eventually became known as the Messier catalog. [10] It is located at right ascension 16 h 41.7 m, declination +36° 28'. Messier 13 is often ...
Messier 69 or M69, also known NGC 6637, and NGC 6634, [9] [10] is a globular cluster in the southern constellation of Sagittarius. [a] It can be found 2.5° to the northeast of the star Epsilon Sagittarii and is dimly visible in 50 mm aperture binoculars. The cluster was discovered by Charles Messier on August 31, 1780, the same night he ...