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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.
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 ...
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 Butterfly Cluster (cataloged as Messier 6 or M6, and as NGC 6405) is an open cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Scorpius. Its name derives from the resemblance of its shape to a butterfly. [5] The first astronomer to record the Butterfly Cluster's existence was Giovanni Battista Hodierna in 1654. [6]
Messier 66 or M66, also known as NGC 3627, is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the southern, equatorial half of Leo. It was discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier [ 8 ] on 1 March 1780, who described it as "very long and very faint". [ 9 ]
Charles Messier noted it in 1764 and—a studier of comets—cast it as one of his nebulae. William Herschel was the first to resolve individual stars in the cluster in 1791, counting roughly 200. [9] Messier 5 is receding from the Solar System at a speed over 50 km/s. [10]
Messier 94 (also known as NGC 4736, Cat's Eye Galaxy, Crocodile Eye Galaxy, or Croc's Eye Galaxy [7] [8]) is a spiral galaxy in the mid-northern constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781, [ 9 ] and catalogued by Charles Messier two days later.
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 ...