- Messier catalog
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a catalog of nonstellar objects compiled by Charles Messier in 1784 and later slightly extended, now known to contain nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters.
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List of about 109 star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies compiled by the French astronomer Charles Messier (1730–1817), who discovered many of them.Still a valuable guide to amateur astronomers, it was superseded by the New General Catalogue (NGC); both NGC and M reference numbers remain in common use.* * *
(M), in astronomy, list of 110 star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies compiled by Charles Messier (Messier, Charles), who discovered many of them. The catalog is still a valuable guide to amateur astronomers, although it has been superceded by the New General Catalogue (NGC (New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars)); both NGC numbers and Messier numbers remain in common use. The Messier catalog includes such diverse objects as the Crab Nebula supernova remnant (M1), the Pleiades star cluster (M45), and the great spiral galaxy in Andromeda (M31). Messier's purpose was to make comet hunting easier by tabulating permanent deep-sky objects that could be mistaken for comets. He published a preliminary list of 45 such objects in 1771 and compiled the bulk of his catalog 10 years later. By 1784 he had listed 103 objects; in 1783 his friend and collaborator Pierre Méchain (Mechain, Pierre) added six more. In 1966 British amateur astronomer Kenneth Glyn Jones added a satellite galaxy of M31 that Messier had discovered but not included in his catalog.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
