Messier, Charles

Messier, Charles

▪ French astronomer
born June 26, 1730, Badonviller, France
died April 12, 1817, Paris

      French astronomer who was the first to compile a systematic catalog of nebulae (nebula) and star clusters. In Messier's (Messier catalog) time a nebula was a term used to denote any blurry celestial light source.

      In 1751 Messier became a draftsman and recorder of astronomical observations for the noted French astronomer Joseph-Nicolas Delisle. Messier was the first in France to observe the anticipated return of Halley's Comet in 1758–59, and from that time he became an ardent searcher for new comets. Called the comet ferret by King Louis XV, Messier independently discovered 13 of them and observed many more.

      In 1760 he began compiling a list of nebulae so that he could distinguish better between nebulae and comets, which look alike when viewed with a small telescope such as was available to Messier. Many of these nebulae, including some of the most prominent, are still known by his catalog numbers. Messier was elected a foreign member of the Royal Society of London in 1764 and obtained a seat in the Paris Academy of Sciences in 1770.

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  • Messier , Charles — (1730–1817) French astronomer Messier, who was born in Badonviller in France, arrived in Paris in 1751 and was taken on as a clerical assistant by J. Delisle at the Naval Observatory sited in the Collège de Cluny. He quickly learned how to use… …   Scientists

  • Messier, Charles — ► (1730 1817) Astrónomo francés. Fue el primero en confeccionar un catálogo sistemático de las nebulosas y los círculos estelares …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Charles Messier — Born 26 June 1730(1730 06 …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Messier — Charles Messier. El cazacometas Charles Messier, (16 de junio de 1730 12 de abril de 1817) fue un astrónomo francés conocido por ser el creador del catálogo de 110 objetos del espacio profundo (nebulosas, galaxias y cúmulos de estrellas) (los… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Messier catalog — [mes′ē ā΄] n. [after MESSIER Charles] Astron. a listing of 109 galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae: often called Messier s catalog …   English World dictionary

  • Messier object — The Messier objects are a set of astronomical objects first listed by French astronomer Charles Messier in 1771.[1] The original motivation of the catalogue was that Messier was a comet hunter, and was frustrated by objects which resembled but… …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Messier — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Messier. Charles Messier Naissance 26 juin 1730 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Messier 104 — Datenbanklinks zu Sombreronebel Galaxie Sombreronebel …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Messier 27 — Datenbanklinks zu Hantelnebel Planetarischer Nebel Daten des Hantelnebels …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Messier 40 — Datenbanklinks zu Winnecke 4 Doppelstern Winnecke 4 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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