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Dumbbell Nebula

Dumbbell Nebula (M27)    Photo by Randy Light, M.D.

Messier Objects


Charles Messier (1730-1817), was a skilled astronomer on a quest to search for comets. In an effort to help other astronomers identify objects in the sky that were not comets, Messier started logging the objects, and astronomers today call this work the Messier Catalog.

Messier identified 103 objects by the time of his death in 1817, which was quite an accomplishment considering the simple telescopes he used during that era. Seven more objects were identified after his death and added to the catalog, bringing the total of Messier objects to 110.

The Messier objects have intrigued astronomers for years, and locating them in the night sky or photographing them has become a goal of many professional and amateur astronomers.

Messier Object Orion Nebula

Photo: Orion Nebula (M42)   by Randy Light, M.D.




Once each year in the Spring all of the Messier objects can be seen in one night. A Messier Marathon is an event where astronomers try to see as many objects as possible between sunset and sunrise.



Click on the thumbnail to see a larger image.



M1

M1
Supernova Remnant

Common Name:
Crab Nebula

NGC: 1952

Constellation: Taurus

Credits:NASA, ESA, J. Hester and A. Loll (Arizona State Univ.)

M2

M2
Globular Cluster

NGC: 7089

Constellation: Aquarius

Credits:NASA, ESA, STScI and A. Sarajedini (Univ. of Florida)

M3

M3
Globular Cluster

NGC: 5272

Constellation: Canes Venatici

Credits:NASA, ESA, STScI and A. Sarajedini (Univ. of Florida)

M4

M4
Globular Cluster

Common Name:
Cat's Eye

NGC: 6121

Constellation: Scorpius

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA




M5

M5
Globular Cluster

NGC: 5904

Constellation: Serpens

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA

M6

M6
Open Cluster

Common Name:
Butterfly Cluster

NGC: 6405

Constellation: Scorpius

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M7

M7
Open Cluster

Common Name:
Ptolemy's Cluster

NGC: 6475

Constellation: Scorpius

Credit: ESO

M8

M8
Diffuse Nebula

Common Name:
Lagoon Nebula

NGC: 6523

Constellation: Sagittarius

Credits:NASA, ESA




M9

M9
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6333

Constellation: Ophiuchus

Credits:NASA & ESA

M10

M10
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6254

Constellation: Ophiuchus

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA

M11

M11
Open Cluster

Common Name:
Wild Duck Cluster

NGC: 6705

Constellation: Scutum

Credits:NASA, ESA, STScI and P. Dobbie (Univ. of Tasmania)

M12

M12
Globular Cluster

Common Name:
Gumball Cluster

NGC: 6218

Constellation: Ophiuchus

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA




M13

M13
Globular Cluster

Common Name:
Great Globular Cluster in Hercules

NGC: 6205

Constellation: Hercules

Credits:NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: C. Bailyn (Yale Univ.), W. Lewin (MIT), A. Sarajedini (Univ. of Florida), and W. van Altena (Yale Univ.)

M14

M14
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6402

Constellation: Ophiuchus

Credits:NASA, ESA, STScI and F. Ferraro (Universita di Bologna)

M15

M15
Globular Cluster

Common Name:
Great Pegasus Cluster

NGC: 7078

Constellation: Pegasus

Credits:NASA, ESA

M16

M16
Emission Nebula

Common Name:
Eagle Nebula

NGC: 6611

Constellation: Serpens

Credits:NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)




M17

M17
Diffuse Nebula

Common Name:
Omega, Swan, Horseshoe, or Lobster Nebula

NGC: 6618

Constellation: Sagittarius

Credits: By ESO [CC BY 4.0
(http://creative commons
.org/licenses/by/4.0)],
via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.
wikimedia.org/wiki/

M18

M18
Open Cluster

Common Name:
Black Swan

NGC: 6613

Constellation: Sagittarius

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image mosaic] obtained as part of the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), a joint project of the University of Massachusetts and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center/California Institute of Technology, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation.

M19

M19
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6273

Constellation: Ophiuchus

Credits:NASA, ESA, STScI and I. King (Univ. of California - Berkeley)

M20

M20
Diffuse Nebula

Common Name:
Trifid Nebula

NGC: 6514

Constellation: Sagittarius

Credits: By Hewholooks (Own work) [CC BY-SA
3.0
(https://creative commons
.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/
copyleft/fdl.html)], via
Wikimedia Commons




M21

M21
Open Cluster

NGC: 6531

Constellation: Sagittarius

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M22

M22
Globular Cluster

Common Name:
Sagittarius Cluster

NGC: 6656

Constellation: Sagittarius

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA

M23

M23
Open Cluster

NGC: 6494

Constellation: Sagittarius

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M24

M24
Open Cluster

NGC: 6494

Constellation: Sagittarius

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]




M25

M25
Open Cluster

NGC: None

Constellation: Sagittarius

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M26

M26
Open Cluster

NGC: 6694

Constellation: Scutum

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M27

M27
Planetary Nebula

Common Name:
Dumbbell Nebula

NGC: 6853

Constellation: Vulpecula

Credits: By ESO (http://www.eso.org/public
/images/eso9846a/) [CC BY 4.0 (http://creative commons
.org/licenses/by/4.0)],
via Wikimedia Commons

M28

M28
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6626

Constellation: Sagittarius

Credits:NASA, ESA, STScI, R. Buonanno (Universita di Roma Tor Vergata), K. Gebhardt (Univ. of Texas at Austin), J. Grindlay (Harvard Univ.), and F. Ferraro (Universita di Bologna)




M29

M29
Open Cluster

NGC: 6913

Constellation: Cygnus

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M30

M30
Globular Cluster

NGC: 7099

Constellation: Capricornus

Credits:NASA/ESA

M31

M31
Spiral Galaxy

Common Name:
Andromeda Galaxy

NGC: 224

Constellation: Andromeda

Credits:NASA, ESA and Z. Levay (STScI/AURA); PHAT Mosaic]: NASA, ESA, J. Dalcanton, B.F. Williams, L.C. Johnson (Univ. of Washington), the PHAT team and R. Gendler; Ground-based Background Image of M31 (c) 2008 R. Gendler, used with permission

M32

M32
Elliptical Galaxy

NGC: 221

Constellation: Andromeda

Credits:NASA and Thomas M. Brown, Charles W. Bowers, Randy A. Kimble, Allen V. Sweigart (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) and Henry C. Ferguson (Space Telescope Science Institute)




M33

M33
Spiral Galaxy

Common Name:
Triangulum Galaxy

NGC: 598

Constellation: Triangulum

Credit: ESO

M34

M34
Open Cluster

NGC: 1039

Constellation: Perseus

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M35

M35
Open Cluster

NGC: 2168

Constellation: Gemini

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M36

M36
Open Cluster

NGC: 1960

Constellation: Auriga

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]




M37

M37
Open Cluster

NGC: 2209

Constellation: Auriga

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M38

M38
Open Cluster

NGC: 1912

Constellation: Auriga

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M39

M39
Open Cluster

NGC: 7092

Constellation: Cygnus

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M40

M40
Double-Star

NGC: None

Constellation: Ursa Major

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]




M41

M41
Open Cluster


NGC: 2287

Constellation: Canis Major

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M42

M42
Diffuse Nebula

Common Name:
Great Orion Nebula

NGC: 1976

Constellation: Orion

Credits:NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team

M43

M43
Diffuse Nebula

Common Name:
de Mariran's Nebula

NGC: 1982

Constellation: Orion

Credits:NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team

M44

M44
Open Cluster

Common Name:
Beehive Cluster

NGC: 2632

Constellation: Cancer

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]




M45

M45
Open Cluster

Common Name:
Subaru, The Pleiades - The Seven Sisters

NGC: None

Constellation: Taurus

Credits:NASA - Hubble Space Telescope-STScI

M46

M46
Open Cluster

NGC: 2437

Constellation: Puppis

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M47

M47
Open Cluster

NGC: NGC 2422 - NGC 2478 (same object)

Constellation: Puppis

Credit: ESO

M48

M48
Open Cluster

NGC: 2548

Constellation: Hydra

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]




M49

M49
Elliptical Galaxy

NGC: 4472

Constellation: Virgo

Credits:NASA, ESA, STScI and J. Blakeslee (Dominion Astrophysical Observatory)

M50

M50
Open Cluster

NGC: 2323

Constellation: Monoceros

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M51

M51
Spiral Galaxy
Common Name:
Whirlpool Galaxy

NGC: 5194

Constellation: Canes Venatici

Credits:NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI) and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

M52

M52
Open Cluster

Common Name:
Scorpion

NGC: 7654

Constellation: Cassiopeia

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]




M53

M53
Globular Cluster

NGC: 5024

Constellation: Coma Berenices

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA

M54

M54
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6715

Constellation: Sagittarius

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA

M55

M55
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6809

Constellation: Sagittarius

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M56

M56
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6779

Constellation: Lyra

Credits:NASA & ESA




M57

M57
Planetary Nebula

Common Name:
Ring Nebula

NGC: 6720

Constellation: Lyra

Credits:NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration

M58

M58
Spiral Galaxy

NGC: 4579

Constellation: Virgo

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M59

M59
Elliptical Galaxy

NGC: 4621

Constellation: Virgo

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M60

M60
Elliptical Galaxy

NGC: 4649

Constellation: Virgo

Credits:NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration




M61

M61
Spiral Galaxy

Common Name:
Swelling Spiral

NGC: 4303

Constellation: Virgo

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA; Acknowledgment: G. Chapdelaine, L. Limatola and R. Gendler

M62

M62
Globular Cluster

Common Name:
Flickering Globular

NGC: 6266

Constellation: Ophiuchus

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M63

M63
Spiral Galaxy

Common Name:
Sunflower Galaxy

NGC: 5055

Constellation: Canes Venatici

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA

M64

M64
Spiral Galaxy

Common Name:
Black Eye Galaxy

NGC: 4826

Constellation: Coma Berenices

Credits:NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI); Acknowledgment: S. Smartt (Institute of Astronomy) and D. Richstone (U. Michigan)




M65

M65
Spiral Galaxy

Common Name:
Leo Triplet

NGC: 3623

Constellation: Leo

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA

M66

M66
Spiral Galaxy

Common Name:
Leo Triplet

NGC: 3627

Constellation: Leo

Credits:NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration; Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin and Robert Gendler

M67

M67
Open Cluster

Common Name:
King Cobra

NGC: 2682

Constellation: Cancer

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M68

M68
Globular Cluster

NGC: 4590

Constellation: Hydra

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA




M69

M69
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6637

Constellation: Sagittarius

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA

M70

M70
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6681

Constellation: Sagittarius

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA

M71

MM71
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6838

Constellation: Sagitta

Credits:ESA/Hubble and NASA

M72

M72
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6981

Constellation: Aquarius

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA




M73

M73
Open Cluster

NGC: 6994

Constellation: Aquarius

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M74

M74
Spiral Galaxy

Common Name:
Phantom

NGC: 628

Constellation: Pisces

Credits:NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration; Acknowledgment: R. Chandar (Univ. of Toledo) and J. Miller (Univ. of Michigan)

M75

M75
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6864

Constellation: Sagittarius

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M76

M76
Planetary Nebula

Common Name:
Little Dumbbell - Cork - Butterfly

NGC: 650 and 651

Constellation: Perseus

Credits: Vanderbei at English Wikipedia [GFDL
(http://www.gnu.org/
copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creative commons
.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/
copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY 2.5 (http://creative commons
.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons




M77

M77
Spiral Galaxy

Common Name:
Cetus A

NGC: 1068

Constellation: Cetus

Credits:NASA, ESA & A. van der Hoeven

M78

M78
Reflection Nebula

NGC: 2068

Constellation: Orion

Credit: ESO/Igor Chekalin

M79

M79
Globular Cluster

NGC: 1904

Constellation: Lepus

Credits:NASA, ESA, STScI, F. Ferraro (Universita di Bologna) and S. Djorgovski (California Institute of Technology)

M80

M80
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6093

Constellation: Scorpius

Credits:The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)




M81

M81
Spiral Galaxy

Common Name:
Bode's Galaxy (Nebula)

NGC: 3031

Constellation: Ursa Major

Credits:NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

M82

M82
Irregular Galaxy

Common Name:
Cigar Galaxy

NGC: 3034

Constellation: Ursa Major

Credits:NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: J. Gallagher (Univ. of Wisconsin), M. Mountain (STScI) and P. Puxley (National Science Foundation)

M83

M83
Spiral Galaxy

Common Name:
Southern Pinwheel

NGC: 5236

Constellation: Hydra

Credits:NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: W. Blair (STScI/Johns Hopkins Univ.) and R. O’Connell (Univ. of Virginia)

M84

M84
Lenticular Galaxy

NGC: 4374

Constellation: Virgo

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA




M85

M85
Lenticular Galaxy

NGC: 4382

Constellation: Coma Berenices

Credits: By en:NASA, en:STScI, en:WikiSky [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

M86

M86
Lenticular Galaxy

NGC: 4406

Constellation: Virgo

Credits: By en:NASA, en:STScI, en:WikiSky (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons

M87

M87
Elliptical Galaxy

Common Name:
Virgo A

NGC: 4486

Constellation: Virgo

Credits:NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: P. Cote (Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics) and E. Baltz (Stanford Univ.)

M88

M88
Spiral Galaxy

NGC: 4501

Constellation: Coma Berenices

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]




M89

M89
Elliptical Galaxy

NGC: 4552

Constellation: Virgo

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M90

M90
Spiral Galaxy

NGC: 4569

Constellation: Virgo

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M91

M91
Spiral Galaxy

NGC: 4548

Constellation: Coma Berenices

Credits:NASA, ESA and STScI

M92

M92
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6341

Constellation: Hercules

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA; Acknowledgment: Gilles Chapdelaine




M93

M93
Open Cluster

NGC: 2447

Constellation: Puppis

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M94

M94
Spiral Galaxy

Common Name:
Croc's Eye Galaxy

NGC: 4736

Constellation: Canes Venatici

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA

M95

M95
Spiral Galaxy

NGC: 3351

Constellation: Leo

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M96

M96
Spiral Galaxy

NGC: 3368

Constellation: Leo

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA and the LEGUS Team; Acknowledgment: R. Gendler




M97

M97
Planetary Nebula

Common Name:
Owl Nebula

NGC: 3587

Constellation: Ursa Major

Credits: By Göran Nilsson & The Liverpool Telescope (Own work)
[CC BY-SA 4.0
(https://creative commons
.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)],
via Wikimedia Commons

M98

M98
Spiral Galaxy

NGC: 4192

Constellation: Coma Berenices

Credits: By NASA/ESA - The Hubble Legacy Archive (HLA): Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), the Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF), and the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC) - zoranknez (Hubble Space Telescope) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

M99

M99
Spiral Galaxy

Common Name:
St. Katherine's Wheel

NGC: 4254

Constellation: Coma Berenices

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA; Acknowledgment: Matej Novak

M100

M100
Spiral Galaxy

NGC: 4321

Constellation: Coma Berenices

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA




M101

M101
Spiral Galaxy

Common Name:
Pinwheel Galaxy

NGC: 5457

Constellation: Ursa Major

Credits:Hubble Image: NASA, ESA, K. Kuntz (JHU), F. Bresolin (Univ. of Hawaii), J. Trauger (Jet Propulsion Lab), J. Mould (NOAO), Y.-H. Chu (Univ. of Illinois, Urbana) and STScI; CFHT Image: Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope/J.-C. Cuillandre/Coelum; NOAO Image: G. Jacoby, B. Bohannan, M. Hanna/NOAO/AURA/NSF

M102

M102
Lenticular Galaxy

Common Name:
Spindle Galaxy

NGC: 5866

Constellation: Draco

Credits:NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: W. Keel (Univ. of Alabama, Tuscaloosa)

M103

M103
Open Cluster

NGC: 581

Constellation: Cassiopeia

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M104

M104
Spiral Galaxy

Common Name:
Sombrero Galaxy

NGC: 4594

Constellation: Virgo

Credits:NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)




M105

M105
Elliptical Galaxy

NGC: 3379

Constellation: Leo

Credits:NASA, ESA, STScI and C. Sarazin (Univ. of Virginia)

M106

M106
Spiral Galaxy
NGC: 4258

Constellation: Canes Venatici

Credits:NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) and R. Gendler (for the Hubble Heritage Team); Acknowledgment: J. GaBany

M107

M107
Globular Cluster

NGC: 6171

Constellation: Ophiuchus

Credits:ESA/Hubble & NASA

M108

M108
Spiral Galaxy

NGC: 3556

Constellation: Ursa Major

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]




M109

M109
Spiral Galaxy

NGC: 3992

Constellation: Ursa Major

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

M110

M110
Elliptical Galaxy

NGC: 205

Constellation: Andromeda

Credits: Atlas Image [or Atlas Image Mosaic]

Charles Messier

Born:
1730

Place of Birth:
Badonviller in the Lorraine region of France

Died:
1817

Messier's Observations

First documented observation:
Mercury transit of May 6, 1753

Telescope Used:
100 mm (four-inch) refracting telescope from Hôtel de Cluny





up arrow


lunar eclipse moon is orange

CONTACT EMAIL:
contact@brazosvalleyastronomyclub.org
Coordinator - Randy Light, M.D.


PROGRAM REQUEST EMAIL:
outreach@brazosvalleyastronomyclub.org
Coordinator - Tom Campbell


GOOGLE DISCUSSION GROUP:
https://groups.google.com
Coordinator - Randy Light, M.D.


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Website by Ginger Wentrcek

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Our goal is to promote astronomy and related science as a hobby for people of all ages.