Messier List
Introduction
The list was first published by the comet-hunter Charles Messier in 1771. He listed 103 objects, objects which were definitely not comets, with the intention of easily eliminating these objects from possible comet sightings. Nowadays the list comprises 110 objects.
Messier can claim to have discovered 42 of the objects himself, and 22 were discovered by his colleague Pierre Mechain.
All Messier Objects also have NGC numbers. This relates to the New General Catalog, a larger catalog of objects.
Of the 110 objects in the Messier Catalog,
- 40 are galaxies
- 29 globular clusters
- 27 open clusters
- 6 diffuse nebulae
- 4 planetary nebulae
- 1 supernova remnant
- 3 "other" objects: star cloud M24, double star M40, and the group or asterism of 4 stars, M73
The brightest objects are, in order
- Pleiades (M45)
- Andromeda "Nebula" (M31)
- Praesepe (M44)
- Orion Nebula (M42)
- M7 in Scorpius
The faintest Messier Objects are of 10th magnitude:
- M108 of visual mag 10.0
- M76 and M98 of visual mag 10.1
- M91 of mag 10.2.
The southernmost object is open cluster M7 in Scorpius at declination -34:49.
M1 Crab Nebula
Supernova Remnant
The Crab Nebula is the remnant of the most famous supernova of all, which was observed by Chinese and Japanese astronomers from 4th July 1054 to 17th April 1056 (but not seemingly in the West). The envelope is expanding at 1,000 km per second, and in the heart of the nebula is a rapidly spinning pulsar; a neutron star 20 km across. Its mass is equal to 1 to 1.5 solar masses and it spins 33 times a second. This also produces X-rays, by synchrotron emission from energetic electrons in the pulsar’s intense magnetic field (in fact the Crab is emitting about 100 times more energy in X-rays than at visible light). It is also the second brightest source of gamma rays.
The pulsar (remnant of the original star) was detected in 1968
and was eventually found to be a pulsar in
all electromagnetic radiation from radio to gamma rays.
M2
Globular Cluster
In Aquarius close to the Celestial Equator. magnitude 6.0
M3
Globular Cluster
In Canes Venatici, halfway between Arcturus and Cor Caroli. Along with M5 and M13, it is one of the three brightest globulars in the Northern Hemisphere.
M4
Globular Cluster
Lies close to Antares. It is less condensed than most globulars so it is easier to resolve into stars.
M5
Globular Cluster
Lies in Serpens Caput. Highly recommended for viewers from Britain.
M6, Butterfly Cluster
Galactic Cluster
Lies between the Teapot and the tail of Scorpius. Needs a high power to see its butterfly shape.
M7
Galactic Cluster
Lies close to M6
M8 Lagoon Nebula
HII Region
Lies close to the ecliptic, north of the Teapot. Gets its name because it has a dark nebula NGC 6530 crossing it.
M9
Globular Cluster
In Ophiuchus
M10
Globular Cluster
In Ophiuchus
M11 Wild Duck Cluster
Galactic Cluster
Lies in the Scutum Star Cloud, below Altair. Named by Admiral Smyth becaiuse he thought it looked like the V-shape of a skein of flying ducks.
M12
Globular Cluster
In Ophiuchus
In Hercules; the only Globular visible with the naked eye from Britain (under very exceptional conditions) although even then it appears not to have been recorded until spotted by Halley..
Maybe up to a million stars packed into a sphere only a few tens (maybe up to 100) of light-years.
In Ophiuchus
In Pegasus. Believed to contain a supermassive black hole. Central stars are circling around something with extreme speed. M15 is a source of intense X-rays. It is also very bright considering its distance, of 40,000 light years.
In Serpens Cauda.
The second image is a part of the famous image from the Hubble Space Telescope.
In Ophiuchus
Lies close to the ecliptic, above the Teapot in Sagittarius. Was actually seen in 1665 by Abraham Ihle, the first recorded sighting of what we now know to be Globular Clusters. One of the nearer globulars and huge, ranked third behind Omega Centauri and 47 Tucanae.
Lies in Sagittarius.
Lies in Sagittarius. This is just a very bright portion of the sky and is not actually a deep-sky object (although there is a cluster in the center which was too faint for Messier to spot.
Lies in Sagittarius.
Lies in Scutum, close to M11.
Within the Northern Cross, close to the intersection. Badly obscured by dust.
In Capricorn
M13
Globular Cluster
M14
Globular Cluster
M15
Globular Cluster
M16, Eagle Nebula
M17, Omega Nebula, Swan Nebula, Horseshoe Nebula, Checkmark Nebula
HII Region
Received its (first in above list) name because of similarity to the Greek letter. It is in Sagittarius.
M19
Globular Cluster
M20 Triffid Nebula
HII Region
Close to the ecliptic, north of the Teapot. Seems to be attached to the same nebulosity as M8.
M22
Globular Cluster, Great Sagittarius Cluster
M23
Galactic Cluster
M24
Star Cloud
M25
Galactic Cluster
M26
Galactic Cluster
M27 Dumbbell Nebula
Planetary Nebula
Lies in Vulpecula, above Altair. Around 500-900 light years away, it is the brightest and biggest of planetary nebulas, with a magnitude of 7.3.
M29
Galactic Cluster
M30
Globular Cluster
M31 Andromeda Galaxy
Spiral Galaxy, Type Sb
M31 is about one and a half times as large as the Milky Way. It lies about 2.4 million light years away, within the Local Group of which the Milky Way is also a member. It has magnitude 3.5 and is generally believed to be the farthest object visible with the naked eye. It has four satellite galaxies, amongst them M32 and M110. It has been known of since very early on - the first telescopic obsevation recorded was by
Simon Marius in 1612. In 1845 it was observed by Parsons who seemed to be have considered the possibility that it was composed of individual stars. Spectroscopic measurements in the Nineteenth Century by Huggins produced a spectrum unlike those of 'ordinary' nebulas. For star map showing location of M31 go
here . It requires quite a high-power device for its spiral nature to be detected - binoculars will aid detection but it will still only look 'nebulous'.
M32
Elliptical Galaxy, Type E2
Companion to M31 (just above and to the left of it). Least massive object in Messier's list.
Its diameter is around 8000 light years.
M33, Pinwheel Galaxy
Spiral galaxy, Type Sc
Member of the Local Group at a distance of 2.7 light years. It is found the other side of the Andromeda constellation than the Andromeda Galaxy M31 itself. It is actually in Triangulum. It is small in comparison with the Milky Way - about 6% as massive as the Mily Way. It has a diameter of about 60,000 light years.
M34
Galactic Cluster
In Perseus, between Algol and γ Andromodae.
M35
Galactic Cluster
In Gemini, west of Castor and Pollux. NGC 2158 is close by.
M36
Galactic Cluster
In Auriga
M37
Galactic Cluster
In Auriga
M38
Galactic Cluster
In Auriga. Said to represnrt the Greek letter π when viewed in a small terlescope.
M39
Galactic Cluster
Lies about 10° north of Deneb.
M40
A pair of stars
In Ursa Major. Considered to have doubtful claims to be a 'proper' Messier object.
M41
Galactic Cluster
Situated about 4° below Sirius. Has a distinctly red star at the center.
M42 Orion Nebula
HII Region
Four of the stars at the center of the nebula are actually visble - they are known as the Trapezium. The Trapezium stars are massive - maybe up to 50 solar masses and are part of a cluster born less than a million years ago. In 1880, Henry Draper took a photograph of M42, becoming the first person to photograph a nebula.
M43
Just north of the main mass of M42.
M44
Galactic Cluster
Praesepe. Galactic cluster in Cancer, close to the ecliptic. Galileo was the first to observe it by telescope and apparently made the reference to 'looking like bees areound a hive' that gives it its name. It lies in the center of a triangle formed by Regulus, Pollux and Procyon, and is flanked by two stars - Delta and Gamma Cancri. In a dark sky, it can be seen as a faint smudge by the naked eye, and it is stated that its visibility can be used as a test of the quality of the sky.
50 million years old, so the stars probably did not exist during the Age of the Dinosaurs. The nebula contains over 500 stars. About 400 light years distant.
In Puppis, East of Sirius. Also contains the planetary nebula NGC 2438 in its field of view.
In Puppis, East of Sirius, but slightly closer to the star than M46.
About 30° east of Sirius. Surrounded by some mystery as Messier appears to have misreported its position. Now it seems to be accepted that Messier's M48 was actually NGC 2548.
In Virgo. One of the brightest in the Virgo Cluster - slightly bigger and brighter than M87.
In Monoceros, about 8° North, 3° East of Sirius towards Procyon.
It appears face-on to us and was the first Messier object in which spiral features were recognized (by William Parsons in 1855), although it was not
recognized as a galaxy at the time.
Found in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici.
A smaller galaxy, NGC 5195, appears to
lie at the end of one of the Whirlpool's spiral arms but in fact lies behind the arm. The
companion galaxy is thought to be orbiting around the Whirlpool every 500 million
years or so, but the orbit is shrinking and the two galaxies will merge after
two or three more orbits. The Whirlpool lies about 15 million light
years away.
In Cassiopeia, found by following α and β upwards (these are the two stars on the right hand line of the 'W'. Fairly young by astronomical standards.
In Coma Berenices
In Lyra. One of the fainter Messier objects.
Recent results suggest that the nebula might be a torus rather than a sphere.
In Virgo Cluster. Bar shaped central feature surrounded by a diffuse halo.
In Virgo Cluster. The most elongated in Messier's list.
In Virgo Cluster
In Virgo Cluster
In Ophiuchus
The Sunflower Galaxy in Canes Venatici.
One of the brightest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster, with a magnitude of 8.5.
A huge cloud of dust gives it its common name
In Leo. Almost edge on to us.
Leo
In Hydra. One of the fainter Messier objects.
In Sagitta. Close to, and South of, M27. Majority opinion seems to be that it is a (sparsely-populated) globular cluster, without the bright core typical of such objects.
In Aquarius
In Aquarius. Considered to have 'doubtful' claims to be a 'proper' Messier object.
Face-on spiral in Pisces.
In Lepus
In Scorpius
Ursa Major.
Barred spiral?
The image above shows a section of the Virgo Cluster, with M84 being the bright galaxy at the very right.
In the Virgo Cluster
This is galaxy is shown in the
image accompanying M84 above. M86 is the bright galaxy just to the right of top center.
A giant elliptical at the heart of the Virgo Cluster. It is also a radio source (known as Virgo A) and its X-ray emission is over 10 times its combined optical and radio emissions. A jet of hot gas 4 000 light years long is seen being shot out of what is usually agreed to be a supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy. Interesting features of the galaxy seem to require professional telescopes. It has one of the largest collection of globular clusters known.
Virgo Cluster
In the Virgo Cluster
In the Virgo Cluster
Barred spiral, some doubt exists as to whether this galaxy seen at the relevant position is the 'original' Messier object, being very faint.
Hercules
East of Canis Major
In Canes Venatici. Tightly wound spiral. Face on to us.
Barred spiral in Leo
Leo
In Ursa Major. Observed by William Parsons. It is one of the largest planetary nebulas and is therefore also fairly faint. Its magnitude is about 10, one of the dimmest Messier objects.
Virgo Cluster. Marks the western boundary of the Virgo Cluster.
Virgo Cluster
The spiral galaxy M100 is between 35 million and 80 million light-years from the earth.
Virgo Cluster.
Large face-on spiral in Ursa Major. Several of the HII regions in its arms have their own NGC number.
Seemingly most observers believe there was a typo in Messier's originally stated position (near omicron Bootes should have read near theta Bootes) and that M102 is NGC 5866
In Cassiopeia, close to the 'bottom' of the 'left-hand line' of the 'W'.
Appears to be a part of the Virgo Cluster although not situted near the main concentration.
Leo
face-on barred spiral
M45 Pleiades
Galactic Cluster
M46
Galactic Cluster
M47
Galactic Cluster
M48
Galactic Cluster
M49
Elliptical Galaxy
M50
Galactic Cluster
M51 Whirlpool Galaxy
Spiral Galaxy, Type Sbc
M52
Galactic Cluster
M53
Globular Cluster
M55
Globular Cluster
M56
Globular Cluster
M57 Ring Nebula
Planetary Nebula
In Lyra.
M58
Spiral Galaxy Sb
M59
Elliptical Galaxy
M60
Elliptical Galaxy
M61
Spirals Galaxy
M62
Globular Cluster
M63
Spiral Galaxy
M64, Blackeye Galaxy
Spiral Galaxy
M65
Spiral Galaxy
M66
Spiral Galaxy
M67
Galactic Cluster
One of the oldest open clusters known - 10 billion years old.
About 10° South of M44, the Beehive. Well away from the plane of the Galaxy so has avoided being disrupted and broken up.
M68
Globular Cluster
M71
Maybe Galactic, maybe Globular Cluster
M72
Globular Cluster
M73
Four Faint Stars
M74
Spiral Galaxy
M76
Planetary Nebula
In Perseus, between γ Andromodae and &delat; Cassiopeiae. Sometimes nicknamed the 'Little Dumbbell'. The faintest of all Messier Objects. A telescope will show it as two areas of light almost in contact, which is why it has two NGC numbers - NGC 650 and 651). Incidentally, the brightest Planetary Nebula is NGC 7293 in Aquarius, which was not included in Messier's list.
M77
Seyfert Galaxy (Spiral, type Sb)
In Cetus. The light from the active nucleus can vary over a period of a few days. Consequently, sometimes M77 is bright and sometimes difficult to see
M78
Just North of Orion's belt
M79
Globular Cluster
M80
Globular Cluster
M81,M82
M81 (left) is a Spiral Galaxy, M82 (right) is a Starburst Galaxy
M83
Spiral Galaxy, Type Sc
M84
S0 Galaxy
M85
S0 Galaxy
M86
Elliptical Galaxy, type E1
M87
Elliptical Galaxy, type E0
M88
Galaxy
M89
Elliptical Galaxy, type E0
M90
Spiral Galaxy
M91
>Spiral Galaxy
M92
Globular Cluster
M93
Galactic Cluster
M94
Spiral Galaxies
M95
Barred Spiral Galaxy
M96
Spiral Galaxy
M97 Owl Nebula
M98
Spiral Galaxy
M99
>Spiral Galaxy Sc
M100
Spiral Galaxy
M101
M102
'Missing!' (possibly S0 galaxy)
M103
Galactic Cluster
M104 Sombrero Galaxy
Spiral Galaxy Type Sa
M105
Elliptical Galaxy
M106
M108
M109
M110
Elliptical Galaxy, Type E6
companion of M31 (below and to the right of it). Also NGC 225, which might be useful to know because apparently there are astronomers who have not fully accepted its status as M110.
