Messier object

Messier object
All messier objects (numbered).jpg
Messier objects, taken and compiled by an amateur astronomer
Alternative names Messier Catalogue
Survey type Astronomical catalog Edit this on Wikidata
Target Nebula, Planetary nebula, Open cluster, Globular cluster, Galaxy Edit this on Wikidata
Named after Charles Messier Edit this on Wikidata
Published 1771 Edit this on Wikidata
Band Visual perception Edit this on Wikidata
Commons page Related media on Wikimedia Commons
[edit on Wikidata]
The Messier objects [me.sje] are a set of 110 astronomical objects, of which 103 were included in lists published by French astronomer Charles Messier in 1771 and 1781.[1] Messier was a comet hunter, and was frustrated by objects which resembled but were not comets, so he compiled a list of them,[2] in collaboration with his assistant Pierre Méchain, to avoid wasting time on them. In addition to the 103 items published by Messier, seven more are thought to have been observed by Messier and have been added to the list by other astronomers over the years.