The Messier List

Many beginners start out by trying to observe all of the targets on the Messier list. So, what is the Messier list?

Charles Messier (1730 - 1817) was a French astronomer who specialized in comet hunting. He compiled the Catalogue of Nebulous Objects and Star Clusters, which lists many of the brightest deep sky objects, virtually all of which are visible through the average beginner's telescope. There is some debate as to why he compiled this list, the most commonly used reason is that he compiled the list to aid his fellow comet hunters in avoiding these objects. However, as we look at some of these targets, particularly the Open Clusters, it seems hard to imagine that all of these targets could have been confused with comets. Whatever his reasons for compiling the list, it serves as an excellent starting point for beginning your exlporations of the universe. Below I list all 110 "M's" along with their coordinates, type, season for viewing, constellation and size. Objects with only one number indicated reflect the diameter of the object (typically Open and Globular Clusters).

A word about magnitudes. The magnitudes given are calculated as though all the light of the object was focused to a pinpoint such as a star. This makes it somewhat difficult to determine how easily visible some targets are. Larger targets spread the light over a greater area of the sky and can be somewhat dimmer than a dimensionally smaller target even though it may have a lower magnitude. So, don't forget to check the size of the target you're looking for to get an idea of how large and how bright it will appear. I use targets I have previously found to get a rough idea of the size and brightness.

Good hunting!

First, the legend:
D-Double Star; DN-Diffuse Nebula; EG-Elliptical Gallaxy; EN-Emission Nebula; GC-Globular Cluster; IG - Irregular Galaxy; OC-Open Cluster; PN-Planetary Nebula; RG-Round Galaxy; RN=Reflection Nebula; SG=Spiral Galaxy; SNR-Super Nova Remnant.

Constellation Abbreviations:
And - Andromeda; Aqr - Aquarius; Aql - Aquila; Aur - Auriga; CMa - Canis Major; Cnc - Cancer; CMa - Canis Major; CVn - Canes Venatci; Cap - Capricornus; Cas - Cassiopea; Cet - Cetus; Com - Coma Berenices; Cyg - Cygnus; Gem - Gemini; Her - Hercules; Hya - Hydra; Lep - Lepus; Lyr - Lyra; Mon - Monoceros; Oph - Ophiucus; Ori - Orion; Psc - Pisces; Peg - Pegasus; Per - Perseus; Pup - Puppis; Sco - Scorpius; Sct - Scutum; Ser - Serpens Caput; Sge - Sagitta; Sgr - Sagittarius; Tau -Taurus; Tri - Triangulum; UMa - Ursa Major; Vir - Virgo; Vul - Vulpecula