The Messier Catalogue

The first edition covered 45 Messier objects numbered M1 to M45. The total list consists of 110 Messier objects, ranging from M1 to M110. The final catalogue was published in 1781 and printed in the Connaissance des Temps in 1784. Many of these objects are still known by their Messier number.

Charles Messier

Unknown, please advise

Because the Messier list was compiled by astronomers in the Northern Hemisphere, it contains only objects from the north celestial pole to a celestial latitude of about -35°. Many impressive Southern objects, such as the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are excluded from the list. Because all of the Messier objects are visible with binoculars or small telescopes (under favourable conditions), they are popular viewing objects for amateur astronomers. In early spring, astronomers sometimes gather for "Messier Marathons", when all of the objects can be viewed over a single night.

The New General Catalogue (NGC) is the most well-known catalogue of deep sky objects in amateur astronomy. It contains nearly 8,000 objects, known as the NGC objects. The NGC is one of the largest comprehensive catalogues, as it includes all types of deep sky objects (not specialised to just galaxies for instance).

The catalogue was compiled in the 1880s by J. L. E. Dreyer using observations mostly from William Herschel, and then subsequently expanded with two Index Catalogues (IC I & IC II), adding nearly 5,000 objects.

Here is a list of the full 110 Messier Objects and some details about them. It was compiled using information mainly from the SEDS database and from Wikipedia.

You may also wish to look at Sir Patrick Moore's Caldwell Catalogue.

You can also view my gallery of Deep Space Objects.

The Messier Objects

Tutorial Series

This post is part of the series Astronomical Objects. Use the links below to advance to the next tutorial in the couse, or go back and see the previous in the tutorial series.

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Galaxy Types and Galaxy Formation

The Caldwell Catalogue

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