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Messier catalog

Messier catalog - the most popular catalog of galaxies and nebulae, especially for beginners. In this catalog the brightest objects of the Deep Space are collected, which are accessible for observation in amateur telescopes.

List of Messier objects
Marathon Messier

Charles Messier Charles Messier (1730-1817) - french astronomer. Since 1751 he worked at the Paris Observatory.
While searching for comets, Messier decided to create a catalog of foggy objects in the sky to facilitate the life of himself and other "comet catchers", for distinguish these nebulous formations from comets..

There have been several releases of the Messier catalog , in which objects collected by Charles Messier, astronomer Pierre Meshen and other astronomers have been collected. In total, 110 objects are included in the catalog - galaxies, nebulae and star clusters.  Objects are numbered as they are found and entered in the catalog. He did not find all the objects of the Messier catalog himself. Messier studied the records of many of his predecessors, rechecking them. Nevertheless, many objects are open to them.

Pierre Meshen Astronomer Pierre Meschen, who worked simultaneously with Messier, discovered almost half of the objects from the Messier catalog. His first discovery was the spiral galaxy M63. Messier cross-checked Meshen's messages and put them in his catalog.

The first edition of the Messier catalog was published in 1774 and contained 45 objects.
The last edition was published in 1781 and contained 103 objects.
Messier wanted to stop at the figure of 100, but by the time the last manuscript was sent to the press, Meshen told about three more objects.
Messier interrupted the filling of the catalog due to severe injury, and also because the English astronomer William Herschel, having acquired more powerful equipment, issued a catalog of 2500 objects.
The Messier catalog was added to the M110 facility after his death, because Messier observed some objects, although he did not assign them separate numbers.
M104 - M107 were opened by Meshen, and M108 and M109 have already been mentioned in the description of the M97. M110, the satellite of the Andromeda nebula, - Messier saw him, but did not consider it necessary to allocate.

It is Messier's catalog that we owe the presence of the letter M in the most used names of such objects as: The globular cluster M13, the Andromeda nebula M31 ...
For the amateur astronomer Messier's catalog is especially interesting because it was compiled at the end of the 18th century, when the telescopes were not yet very powerful. This means that Messier's catalog contains only the brightest objects, which today are the easiest to see in an amateur telescope.

Messier himself later said that he had previously limited himself to a telescope with a focal length of 60 cm.
Although, there are quite noticeable objects that are not included in the Messier catalog. For example, star clusters of Chi and Ash Perseus (NGC 884 and NGC 869) or galaxy NGC 3628 from Triplet of Leo, which is not inferior to its neighbors M65 and M66. Therefore, Messier's catalog is well supplemented with the catalog of Caldwell.
A more complete catalog of NGC includes a much larger number of galaxies and nebulae, but most of them require more powerful equipment than an "ordinary" amateur astronomer telescope.

List of Messier objects

Here is a complete list of Messier catalog objects. For the most notable objects, links to pages with their descriptions are given.

Filters:
Full catalog Galaxies Star clusters Nebulae
- spiral - globular  
- elliptical - open  

# in Messier and NGC catalogs Object type Coord.
α
δ
Visual magnit. Angular size Constellation Note
M1
M1

( NGC 1952 )
Nebula, supernova remnant 05h34.5m
+22° 01'
8,4m 6'x4' Taurus
(Tau)
Crab Nebula
M2
M2

( NGC 7089 )
Globular star cluster 21h33.5m
-00° 49'
6,3m 16' Aquarius
(Aqr)
M3
M3

( NGC 5272 )
Globular star cluster 13h42.2m
+28° 23'
7,0m 19' Canes Venatici
(CVn)
M4
M4

( NGC 6121 )
Globular star cluster 16h23.6m
-26° 32'
5,6m 35' Scorpius
(Sco)
M5
M5

( NGC 5904 )
Globular star cluster 15h18.6m
+02° 05'
5,6m 20' Serpens
(Ser)
M6
M6

( NGC 6405 )
Open star cluster 17h40.1m
-32° 13'
4,3m 20' Scorpius
(Sco)
Butterfly Сluster
M7
M7

( NGC 6475 )
Open star cluster 17h53.9m
-34° 49'
3,3m 80' Scorpius
(Sco)
Ptolemy Сluster
M8
M8

( NGC 6523 )
Emission nebula 18h03.8m
-24° 23'
6,0m 90'x40' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
Lagoon Nebula
Open star cluster 18h03.8m
-24° 23'
m 7' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
Lagoon Сluster
M9
M9

( NGC 6333 )
Globular star cluster 17h19.2m
-18° 31'
7,7m 11' Ophiuchus
(Oph)
M10
M10

( NGC 6254 )
Globular star cluster 16h57.1m
-04° 06'
6,7m 19' Ophiuchus
(Oph)
M11
M11

( NGC 6705 )
Open star cluster 18h51.1m
-06° 16'
7,0m 13' Scutum
(Sct)
Wild Duck Сluster
M12
M12

( NGC 6218 )
Globular star cluster 16h47.2m
-01° 57'
8,0m 14' Ophiuchus
(Oph)
M13
M13

( NGC 6205 )
Globular star cluster 16h41.4m
+36° 27'
7,0m 21' Hercules
(Her)
Great Globular Cluster in Hercules Сluster
M14
M14

( NGC 6402 )
Globular star cluster 17h37.6m
-03° 15'
9,5m 11' Ophiuchus
(Oph)
M15
M15

( NGC 7078 )
Globular star cluster 21h30.0m
+12° 10'
7,5m 18' Pegasus
(Peg)
M16
M16

( NGC 6611 )
Open star cluster 18h18.8m
-13° 47'
6,5m 21' Serpens
(Ser)
Eagle Сluster
M17
M17

( NGC 6618 )
Emission nebula 18h20.8m
-16° 11'
7,0m 46'x37' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
Omega, Swan, Horseshoe, or Lobster Nebula Nebula
Open star cluster 18h20.8m
-16° 11'
m 5' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
Omega, Swan, Horseshoe, or Lobster Nebula Сluster
M18
M18

( NGC 6613 )
Open star cluster 18h19.9m
-17° 08'
8,0m 5' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
M19
M19

( NGC 6273 )
Globular star cluster 17h02.6m
-26° 16'
8,5m 14' Ophiuchus
(Oph)
M20
M20

( NGC 6514 )
Emission nebula 18h02.3m
-23° 02'
5,0m 29'х27' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
Trifid Nebula
Open star cluster 18h02.3m
-23° 02'
m 20' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
Trifid Сluster
M21
M21

( NGC 6531 )
Open star cluster 18h04.6m
-22° 30'
7,0m 18' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
M22
M22

( NGC 6656 )
Globular star cluster 18h36.4m
-23° 54'
6,5m 33' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
Sagittarius Сluster
M23
M23

( NGC 6494 )
Open star cluster 17h56.8m
-19° 01'
6,0m 35' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
M24
M24

( IC 4715 )
The Milky Way Region 18h16.9m
-18° 29'
m 90' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
Sagittarius Star Cloud
M25
M25

( IC 4725 )
Open star cluster 18h31.6m
-19° 15'
4,9m 30' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
M26
M26

( NGC 6694 )
Open star cluster 18h45.2m
-09° 24'
9,5m 10' Scutum
(Sct)
M27
M27

( NGC 6853 )
Planetary nebula 19h59.6m
+22° 43'
7,4m 8,4'×6,1' Vulpecula
(Vul)
Dumbbell Nebula
M28
M28

( NGC 6626 )
Globular star cluster 18h24.5m
-24° 52'
8,5m 10' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
M29
M29

( NGC 6913 )
Open star cluster 20h23.9m
+38° 32'
9,0m 8' Cygnus
(Cyg)
Cooling Сluster
M30
M30

( NGC 7099 )
Globular star cluster 21h40.4m
-23° 11'
8,5m 12' Capricornus
(Cap)
M31
M31

( NGC 224 )
Spiral galaxy 00h42.8m
+41° 16'
3,4m 3,17°×1° Andromeda
(And)
Andromeda Galaxy
M32
M32

( NGC 221 )
Elliptical galaxy 00h42.7m
+40° 52'
8,1m 9'×7' Andromeda
(And)
M33
M33

( NGC 598 )
Spiral galaxy 01h33.9m
+30° 39'
5,7m 71'×42' Triangulum
(Tri)
Triangulum Galaxy
M34
M34

( NGC 1039 )
Open star cluster 02h42.0m
+42° 47'
6,0m 35' Perseus
(Per)
M35
M35

( NGC 2168 )
Open star cluster 06h09.1m
+24° 21'
5,5m 28' Gemini
(Gem)
M36
M36

( NGC 1960 )
Open star cluster 05h36.2m
+34° 08'
6,5m 12' Auriga
(Aur)
M37
M37

( NGC 2099 )
Open star cluster 05h52.4m
+32° 33'
6,0m 25' Auriga
(Aur)
M38
M38

( NGC 1912 )
Open star cluster 05h28.7m
+35° 51'
7,0m 15' Auriga
(Aur)
M39
M39

( NGC 7092 )
Open star cluster 21h31.8m
+48° 26'
5,5m 30' Cygnus
(Cyg)
M40
M40

( WNC 4 )
Optical pair of stars 12h22.2m
+58° 05'
9m 0,8' Ursa Major
(UMa)
Winnecke 4
M41
M41

( NGC 2287 )
Open star cluster 06h46.0m
+20° 45'
5,0m 40' Canis Major
(CMa)
M42
M42

( NGC 1976 )
Emission nebula 05h35.4m
-05° 23'
5,0m 65'×60' Orion
(Ori)
Orion Nebula
Open star cluster 05h35.4m
-05° 23'
m 3' Orion
(Ori)
Orion Сluster
M43
M43

( NGC 1982 )
Emission nebula 05h35.5m
-05° 16'
7,0m 20'x15' Orion
(Ori)
De Mairan's, part of M42 Nebula
M44
M44

( NGC 2632 )
Open star cluster 08h40.4m
+19° 41'
4,0m 1,2° Cancer
(Cnc)
Beehive Сluster
M45
M45

( Mel 22 )
Open star cluster 03h47.0m
+24° 07'
1.6m Taurus
(Tau)
Pleiades Сluster
Reflecting nebula 03h46.0m
+23° 46'
m 30' × 30' Taurus
(Tau)
Pleiades Nebula
M46
M46

( NGC 2437 )
Open star cluster 07h41.8m
-14° 49'
6,5m 20' Puppis
(Pup)
M47
M47

( NGC 2422 )
Open star cluster 07h36.6m
-14° 30'
4,5m 30' Puppis
(Pup)
M48
M48

( NGC 2548 )
Open star cluster 08h13.7m
-05° 45'
5,5m 30' Hydra
(Hya)
M49
M49

( NGC 4472 )
Elliptical galaxy 12h29.8m
+08° 00'
8,4m 10'×8' Virgo
(Vir)
M50
M50

( NGC 2323 )
Open star cluster 07h02.8m
+08° 23'
7,0m 15' Monoceros
(Mon)
M51
M51

( NGC 5194,NGC 5195 )
Spiral galaxy 13h29.9m
+47° 12'
8,4m 15'×7' Canes Venatici
(CVn)
Whirlpool Galaxy
M52
M52

( NGC 7654 )
Open star cluster 23h24.2m
+61° 35'
8,0m 16' Cassiopeia
(Cas)
M53
M53

( NGC 5024 )
Globular star cluster 13h12.9m
+18° 10'
8,5m 13' Coma Berenices
(Com)
M54
M54

( NGC 6715 )
Globular star cluster 18h55.1m
-30° 29'
8,5m 12' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
M55
M55

( NGC 6809 )
Globular star cluster 19h40.0m
-30° 58'
7,0m 19' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
M56
M56

( NGC 6779 )
Globular star cluster 19h16.6m
+30° 11'
9,5m 7' Lyra
(Lyr)
M57
M57

( NGC 6720 )
Planetary nebula 18h53.6m
+33° 02'
8,8m 86"×62" Lyra
(Lyr)
Ring Nebula
M58
M58

( NGC 4579 )
Spiral galaxy 12h37.7m
+11° 49'
9,6m 6'×5' Virgo
(Vir)
M59
M59

( NGC 4621 )
Elliptical galaxy 12h42.0m
+11° 39'
9,6m 5'×4' Virgo
(Vir)
M60
M60

( NGC 4649 )
Elliptical galaxy 12h43.7m
+11° 33'
8,8m 7'×6' Virgo
(Vir)
M61
M61

( NGC 4303 )
Spiral galaxy 12h21.9m
+04° 28'
9,6m 7'×6' Virgo
(Vir)
M62
M62

( NGC 6266 )
Globular star cluster 17h01.2m
-30° 07'
8,0m 11' Ophiuchus
(Oph)
M63
M63

( NGC 5055 )
Spiral galaxy 13h15.8m
+42° 02'
8,6m 13'×7' Canes Venatici
(CVn)
Sunflower Galaxy
M64
M64

( NGC 4826 )
Spiral galaxy 12h56.7m
+21° 41'
8,5m 11'×5' Coma Berenices
(Com)
Black Eye Galaxy
M65
M65

( NGC 3623 )
Spiral galaxy 11h18.9m
+13° 05'
9,3m 10'×3' Leo
(Leo)
M66
M66

( NGC 3627 )
Spiral galaxy 11h20.2m
+12° 59'
9,0m 9'×4' Leo
(Leo)
M67
M67

( NGC 2682 )
Open star cluster 08h51.4m
+11° 49'
7,5m 25' Cancer
(Cnc)
M68
M68

( NGC 4590 )
Globular star cluster 12h39.5m
-26° 45'
9,0m 11' Hydra
(Hya)
M69
M69

( NGC 6637 )
Globular star cluster 18h31.4m
-32° 21'
9,0m 10' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
M70
M70

( NGC 6681 )
Globular star cluster 18h43.2m
-32° 17'
9,0m 8' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
M71
M71

( NGC 6838 )
Globular star cluster 19h53.8m
+18° 47'
8,5m 7' Sagitta
(Sge)
M72
M72

( NGC 6981 )
Globular star cluster 20h53.5m
-12° 32'
10,0m 6' Aquarius
(Aqr)
M73
M73

( NGC 6994 )
Asterism - 4 stars, visible nearby 20h58.9m
-12° 38'
m 2,8' Aquarius
(Aqr)
M74
M74

( NGC 628 )
Spiral galaxy 01h36.7m
+15° 47'
8,5m 11'×10' Pisces
(Psc)
M75
M75

( NGC 6864 )
Globular star cluster 20h06.1m
-21° 55'
9,5m 7' Sagittarius
(Sgr)
M76
M76

( NGC 650,NGC 651 )
Planetary nebula 01h42.3m
+51° 34'
10,1m 67" Perseus
(Per)
Little Dumbbell Nebula
M77
M77

( NGC 1068 )
Spiral galaxy 02h42.7m
+00° 01'
8,9m 7'×6' Cetus
(Cet)
Cetus A Galaxy
M78
M78

( NGC 2068 )
Reflecting nebula 05h46.7m
+00° 03'
8,0m 8'x6' Orion
(Ori)
M79
M79

( NGC 1904 )
Globular star cluster 05h24.2m
-24° 31'
8,5m 6' Lepus
(Lep)
M80
M80

( NGC 6093 )
Globular star cluster 16h17.0m
-22° 59'
7,3m 9' Scorpius
(Sco)
M81
M81

( NGC 3031 )
Spiral galaxy 09h55.5m
+69° 04'
6,8m 27'×14' Ursa Major
(UMa)
Bode's Galaxy
M82
M82

( NGC 3034 )
Spiral galaxy 09h55.9m
+69° 41'
8,4m 11'×4' Ursa Major
(UMa)
Cigar Galaxy
M83
M83

( NGC 5236 )
Spiral galaxy 13h37.0m
-29° 52'
7,5m 13'×12' Hydra
(Hya)
Southern Pinwheel Galaxy
M84
M84

( NGC 4374 )
Elliptical galaxy 12h25.1m
+12° 53'
9,1m 7'×6' Virgo
(Vir)
M85
M85

( NGC 4382 )
Lenticular or elliptical galaxy 12h25.4m
+18° 11'
9,1m 7'×6' Coma Berenices
(Com)
M86
M86

( NGC 4406 )
Lenticular or elliptical galaxy 12h26.2m
+12° 57'
8,9m 9'×6' Virgo
(Vir)
M87
M87

( NGC 4486 )
Elliptical galaxy 12h30.8m
+12° 23'
8,6m 8'×7' Virgo
(Vir)
Virgo A Galaxy
M88
M88

( NGC 4501 )
Spiral galaxy 12h32.0m
+14° 25'
9,6m 7'×4' Coma Berenices
(Com)
M89
M89

( NGC 4552 )
Elliptical galaxy 12h35.7m
+12° 33'
9,7m 5'×5' Virgo
(Vir)
M90
M90

( NGC 4569 )
Spiral galaxy 12h36.8m
+13° 10'
9,5m 10'×4' Virgo
(Vir)
M91
M91

( NGC 4548 )
Spiral galaxy 12h35.4m
+14° 30'
10,1m 5'×4' Coma Berenices
(Com)
M92
M92

( NGC 6341 )
Globular star cluster 17h17.1m
+43° 08'
7,5m 14' Hercules
(Her)
M93
M93

( NGC 2447 )
Open star cluster 07h44.6m
-23° 52'
6,5m 24' Puppis
(Pup)
M94
M94

( NGC 4736 )
Spiral galaxy 12h50.9m
+41° 07'
8,2m 11'×9' Canes Venatici
(CVn)
M95
M95

( NGC 3351 )
Spiral galaxy 10h44.0m
+11° 42'
9,7m 7'×5' Leo
(Leo)
M96
M96

( NGC 3368 )
Spiral galaxy 10h46.8m
+11° 49'
9,2m 8'×5' Leo
(Leo)
M97
M97

( NGC 3587 )
Planetary nebula 11h14.8m
+55° 01'
9,9m 170" Ursa Major
(UMa)
Owl Nebula
M98
M98

( NGC 4192 )
Spiral galaxy 12h13.8m
+14° 54'
10,1m 10'×3' Coma Berenices
(Com)
M99
M99

( NGC 4254 )
Spiral galaxy 12h18.8m
+14° 25'
9,9m 5'×5' Coma Berenices
(Com)
M100
M100

( NGC 4321 )
Spiral galaxy 12h22.9m
+15° 49'
9,3m 7'×6' Coma Berenices
(Com)
M101
M101

( NGC 5457 )
Spiral galaxy 14h03.2m
+54° 21'
7,7m 29'×27' Ursa Major
(UMa)
Pinwheel Galaxy
M102
M102

( )
Error in the catalog 15h06.5m
+55° 46'
m Draco
(Dra)
M102 is error in the catalog — it is М101 or NGC 5866
M103
M103

( NGC 581 )
Open star cluster 01h33.2m
+60° 42'
7,0m 6' Cassiopeia
(Cas)
M104
M104

( NGC 4594 )
Spiral galaxy 12h40.0m
-11° 37'
8,0m 9'×4' Virgo
(Vir)
Sombrero Galaxy
M105
M105

( NGC 3379 )
Elliptical galaxy 10h47.8m
+12° 35'
9,3m 5'×5' Leo
(Leo)
M106
M106

( NGC 4258 )
Spiral galaxy 12h19.0m
+47° 18'
8,3m 19'×7' Canes Venatici
(CVn)
M107
M107

( NGC 6171 )
Globular star cluster 16h32.5m
-13° 03'
10,0m 13' Ophiuchus
(Oph)
M108
M108

( NGC 3556 )
Spiral galaxy 11h11.5m
+55° 40'
10,0m 9'×2' Ursa Major
(UMa)
M109
M109

( NGC 3992 )
Spiral galaxy 11h57.6m
+53° 23'
9,8m 8'×5' Ursa Major
(UMa)
M110
M110

( NGC 205 )
Elliptical galaxy 00h40.4m
+41° 41'
8,0m 22'×11' Andromeda
(And)

Marathon Messier

Marathon Messier - a kind of "race" for astronomers, observers. No, with the telescope behind you, there's no need to run anywhere :). The fact is that twice a year, on a new moon in March and in October, such conditions develop, that all objects of the Messier catalog can be seen in one night!

This is the name of the Messier Marathon. Yes, it is rather not about watching the celestial bodies, but about the speeding up of the telescope. Nevertheless, it is difficult not to agree with the fact that even in this case the impressions will be higher than the roof!

Alas, if you read this article at the mentioned time, then ... do not rush to rejoice. In order to perform the Messier marathon, you must be between 10° and 35° north latitude at this time ...

Lives in the north and there is no way to go south with a good telescope? Do not be upset. The Messier Marathon, albeit in a limited form, can be held in the north. The main thing is that you now know at what time it's best to do it.
Of course, you will not see the southernmost objects, they will be beyond the horizon. But all the other objects Messier will be in your field of vision overnight.


This version of the Messier catalog uses pictures of www.nasa.gov (NASA) and other sources. Images in the places of their original location are mentioned as free from license restrictions. In case of misunderstandings, please contact the authors: let me know and they will be deleted.