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While the Messier catalogue is used by amateur astronomers as a list of deep-sky objects for observation, Moore noted that Messier's list was not compiled for that purpose and excluded many of the sky's brightest deep-sky objects, [1] such as the Hyades, the Double Cluster (NGC 869 and NGC 884), and the Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253). The Messier ...
Charles Messier added it to his catalogue of nebulous objects (now known as the Messier Catalogue) in March 1781. [8] It is one of the closest and brightest barred spiral galaxies in the sky, and is visible with binoculars. [9] It has an isophotal diameter at about 36.24 kiloparsecs (118,000 light-years).
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 ...
The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion, and is known as the middle "star" in the "sword" of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky with an apparent magnitude of 4.0.
Charles Messier added it to his famous catalog in 1769 after precisely measuring its position in the sky. Along with the Orion Nebula and the Pleiades cluster, Messier's inclusion of the Beehive has been noted as curious, as most of Messier's objects were much fainter and more easily confused with comets.
This is a list of the brightest natural objects in the sky. This list orders objects by apparent magnitude from Earth , not anywhere else . This list is with reference to naked eye viewing; all objects are listed by their visual magnitudes, and objects too close together to be distinguished are listed jointly.
A Messier marathon is an attempt, usually organized by amateur astronomers, to find as many Messier objects as possible during one night. The Messier catalogue was compiled by French astronomer Charles Messier during the late 18th century and consists of 110 relatively bright deep-sky objects (galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters).
Messier 103 (also known as M103, or NGC 581) is a small open cluster of many faint stars in Cassiopeia. It was discovered on 27 March 1781 by Pierre Méchain, but later added as Charles Messier's last deep-sky object in his catalogue. [3] It is located 9,400 light-years from the Sun [1] [3] and is about 15 light years across. It holds two ...