Charles Messier (June 26, 1730 – April 12, 1817)
Messier Marathon Log was a French astronomer born in the Lorraine town of Badonviller, Meurthe-et-Moselle. At the age of 14, he grew interested in astronomy, which was heightened by an annular solar eclipse visible from his hometown on July 25, 1748. However, he was to become a comet hunter, his first being Halley’s Comet, which was incorrectly expected to return in 1757. While looking for comets, he regularly came across ‘fuzzy patches’ that seemed to be comets but weren’t.
Messier Marathon Log The earliest of these ‘fuzzy patches’ was found in the Taurus constellation and was known as the Crab Nebula, a relic of an old supernova discovered by Chinese astronomers in 1054. Messier went on a hunt for such ‘comet-like’ objects and prepared a list so that they would not be mistaken for comets in the future by himself and others. The first item in the collection, called Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters, initially issued in three parts, is M1 (Messier 1), the renowned Crab Nebula. There are 110 such entries in total, as shown in the table below. Each of them is an intriguing item in its own way.
| Messier Object | Common Names | Type of Object | Location | Magnitude |
| M1 | The Crab Nebula | Supernova remnant | Taurus | 8.4 |
| M2 | Globular cluster | Aquarius | 6.5 | |
| M3 | Globular cluster | Canes Venatici | 6.4 | |
| M4 | Globular cluster | Scorpius | 5.9 | |
| M5 | Globular cluster | Serpens Caput | 5.8 | |
| M6 | The Butterfly Cluster | Open cluster | Scorpius | 4.2 |
| M7 | Ptolemy’s Cluster | Open cluster | Scorpius | 3.3 |
| M8 | The Lagoon Nebula | Diffuse nebula | Sagittarius | 5.8 |
| M9 | Globular cluster | Ophiuchus | 7.9 | |
| M10 | Globular cluster | Ophiuchus | 6.6 | |
| M11 | The Wild Duck Cluster | Open cluster | Scutum | 5.8 |
| M12 | Globular cluster | Ophiuchus | 6.6 | |
| M13 | Great Hercules Globular Cluster | Globular cluster | Hercules | 5.9 |
| M14 | Globular cluster | Ophiuchus | 7.6 | |
| M15 | Globular cluster | Pegasus | 6.4 | |
| M16 | Part of the Eagle Nebula | Open cluster | Serpens Cauda | 6.0 |
| M17 | The Omega, Swan or Horseshoe Nebula | Diffuse nebula | Sagittarius | 7.0 |
| M18 | Open cluster | Sagittarius | 6.9 | |
| M19 | Globular cluster | Ophiuchus | 7.2 | |
| M20 | The Trifid Nebula | Diffuse nebula | Sagittarius | 8.5 |
| M21 | Open cluster | Sagittarius | 5.9 | |
| M22 | Globular cluster | Sagittarius | 5.1 | |
| M23 | Open cluster | Sagittarius | 5.5 | |
| M24 | Milky Way Patch | Star cloud | Sagittarius | 4.5 |
| M25 | Open cluster | Sagittarius | 4.6 | |
| M26 | Open cluster | Scutum | 8.0 | |
| M27 | The Dumbbell Nebula | Planetary nebula | Vulpecula | 8.1 |
| M28 | Globular cluster | Sagittarius | 6.9 | |
| M29 | Open cluster | Cygnus | 6.6 | |
| M30 | Globular cluster | Capricornus | 7.5 | |
| M31 | The Andromeda Galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Andromeda | 3.4 |
| M32 | Satellite galaxy of M31 | Elliptical galaxy | Andromeda | 8.2 |
| M33 | The Triangulum Galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Triangulum | 5.7 |
| M34 | Open cluster | Perseus | 5.2 | |
| M35 | Open cluster | Gemini | 5.1 | |
| M36 | Open cluster | Auriga | 6.0 | |
| M37 | Open cluster | Auriga | 5.6 | |
| M38 | Open cluster | Auriga | 6.4 | |
| M39 | Open cluster | Cygnus | 4.6 | |
| M40 | Winnecke 4 | Double Star | Ursa Major | 8.0 |
| M41 | Open cluster | Canis Major | 4.5 | |
| M42 | The Great Orion Nebula | Diffuse nebula | Orion | 4.0 |
| M43 | Part of the Orion Nebula | Diffuse nebula | Orion | 9.0 |
| M44 | The Beehive Cluster, Praesepe | Open cluster | Cancer | 3.1 |
| M45 | “The Pleiades or The Seven Sisters | Open cluster | Taurus | 1.2 |
| M46 | Open cluster | Puppis | 6.1 | |
| M47 | Open cluster | Puppis | 4.4 | |
| M48 | Open cluster | Hydra | 5.8 | |
| M49 | Elliptical galaxy | Virgo | 8.4 | |
| M50 | Open cluster | Monoceros | 5.9 | |
| M51 | The Whirlpool Galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Canes Venatici | 8.1 |
| M52 | Open cluster | Cassiopeia | 6.9 | |
| M53 | Globular cluster | Coma Berenices | 7.7 | |
| M54 | Globular cluster | Sagittarius | 7.7 | |
| M55 | Globular cluster | Sagittarius | 7.0 | |
| M56 | Globular cluster | Lyra | 8.2 | |
| M57 | The Ring Nebula | Planetary nebula | Lyra | 9.0 |
| M58 | Spiral galaxy | Virgo | 9.8 | |
| M59 | Elliptical galaxy | Virgo | 9.8 | |
| M60 | Elliptical galaxy | Virgo | 8.8 | |
| M61 | Spiral galaxy | Virgo | 9.7 | |
| M62 | Globular cluster | Ophiuchus | 6.6 | |
| M63 | Sunflower galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Canes Venatici | 8.6 |
| M64 | Blackeye galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Coma Berenices | 8.5 |
| M65 | Spiral galaxy | Leo | 9.3 | |
| M66 | Spiral galaxy | Leo | 9.0 | |
| M67 | Open cluster | Cancer | 6.9 | |
| M68 | Globular cluster | Hydra | 8.2 | |
| M69 | Globular cluster | Sagittarius | 7.7 | |
| M70 | Globular cluster | Sagittarius | 8.1 | |
| M71 | Globular cluster | Sagitta | 8.3 | |
| M72 | Globular cluster | Aquarius | 9.4 | |
| M73 | Open cluster | Aquarius | 5.0 | |
| M74 | Spiral galaxy | Pisces | 9.2 | |
| M75 | Globular cluster | Sagittarius | 8.6 | |
| M76 | The Little Dumbell, Cork, or Butterfly | Planetary nebula | Perseus | 11.5 |
| M77 | Spiral galaxy | Cetus | 8.8 | |
| M78 | diffuse reflection nebula | Orion | 8.0 | |
| M79 | Globular cluster | Lepus | 8.0 | |
| M80 | Globular cluster | Scorpius | 7.2 | |
| M81 | Bode’s Galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Ursa Major | 6.8 |
| M82 | The Cigar Galaxy | Irregular galaxy | Ursa Major | 8.4 |
| M83 | The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Hydra | 10.1 |
| M84 | Lenticular galaxy | Virgo | 9.3 | |
| M85 | Lenticular galaxy | Coma Berenices | 9.3 | |
| M86 | Lenticular galaxy | Virgo | 9.2 | |
| M87 | Virgo A | Elliptical galaxy | Virgo | 8.6 |
| M88 | Spiral galaxy | Coma Berenices | 9.5 | |
| M89 | Elliptical galaxy | Virgo | 9.8 | |
| M90 | Spiral galaxy | Virgo | 9.5 | |
| M91 | Spiral galaxy | Coma Berenices | 10.2 | |
| M92 | Globular cluster | Hercules | 6.5 | |
| M93 | Open cluster | Puppis | 6.2 | |
| M94 | Spiral galaxy | Canes Venatici | 8.1 | |
| M95 | Spiral galaxy | Leo | 9.7 | |
| M96 | Spiral galaxy | Leo | 9.2 | |
| M97 | The Owl Nebula | Planetary nebula | Ursa Major | 11.2 |
| M98 | Spiral galaxy | Coma Berenices | 10.1 | |
| M99 | Spiral galaxy | Coma Berenices | 9.8 | |
| M100 | Spiral galaxy | Coma Berenices | 9.4 | |
| M101 | The Pinwheel Galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Ursa Major | 7.7 |
| M102 | Possible dupe of M101 | Lenticular galaxy | Draco | 10.0 |
| M103 | Open cluster | Cassiopeia | 7.4 | |
| M104 | The Sombrero Galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Virgo | 8.3 |
| M105 | Elliptical galaxy | Leo | 9.3 | |
| M106 | Spiral galaxy | Canes Venatici | 8.3 | |
| M107 | Globular cluster | Ophiuchus | 8.1 | |
| M108 | Spiral galaxy | Ursa Major | 10.0 | |
| M109 | Spiral galaxy | Ursa Major | 9.8 | |
| M110 | Satellite galaxy of M31 | Elliptical galaxy | Andromeda | 8.0 |
Messier Marathon Log: and other Catalogues
The Messier Catalogue is a catalog of intriguing celestial objects that differ from conventional stars. In 1758 French astronomer Charles Messier started collecting a catalog of nebulae- diffuse objects so that they wouldn’t be confused for comets. Each item was assigned an ‘M’ number, which astronomers still use to identify objects today. M45, for example, is the designation for the Pleiades. There are a total of 110 Messier objects.
Amateur astronomers are interested in the Messier Marathon Log catalog since these objects were discovered in the 18th century and are generally bright enough to be seen with a small telescope. Some claim to have seen every single one using such equipment.
An excellent site about the Messier Catalogue can be found at SEDS.org, with detailed information and pictures of each object.
Messier Marathon Log: Some Highlights of the Messier Catalogue
- M13 Great Hercules Cluster
- M31 Andromeda Galaxy
- M42 Great Orion Nebula
- M44 Beehive Cluster
- M45 Pleiades
Messier Marathon Log: Star Catalogues
Certain stars have been given names since antiquity. However, not all stars can be given a proper name, and such a system would just be confusing, providing no information about the star’s location. Here are some of the several terms for stars and their significance.
- Greek-letter system
One of the earliest attempts to catalog the stars was the greek-letter system, devised in the early 17th century. According to this system, stars are named according to their constellations, and assigned a greek letter, usually according to their brightness. For example, the brightest star in Lyra (Vega) is given the name Alpha Lyrae. The second brightest is called Beta Lyrae then Gamma, Delta Lyrae, and so on. This is useful to amateur astronomers as it mainly covers the stars we can see, and gives us some idea of their whereabouts and their brightness. - Flamsteed numbers
Later on, in the 18th Century astronomer John Flamsteed introduced a numbering system for stars in each constellation, where visible stars are numbered Eastwards, so the Eastern-most star in Centaurus is 1 Centauri, the second 2 Centauri, etc. - BD system
BD, the Bonner Durchmunsterung (Bonn Survey) system came next as telescopes were revealing hundreds of thousands of stars. The sky was divided up into 1-degree bands of Declination, and stars were numbered according to where they came around the circle. For instance, the star BD + 52°1245 is the 1,245th star (counting from Right Ascension 0°) in the area between 51° and 52° declination. - SAO catalog
SAO, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory star catalog, is one of the most widely-used catalogs today. It covers most stars down to about the 9th Magnitude, in which stars are numbered according to their Right Ascension coordinates. We hope you have enjoyed this read on Messier Marathon Log.
Charles Messier (June 26, 1730 – April 12, 1817)
Messier Marathon Log was a French astronomer born in the Lorraine town of Badonviller, Meurthe-et-Moselle. At the age of 14, he grew interested in astronomy, which was heightened by an annular solar eclipse visible from his hometown on July 25, 1748. However, he was to become a comet hunter, his first being Halley’s Comet, which was incorrectly expected to return in 1757. While looking for comets, he regularly came across ‘fuzzy patches’ that seemed to be comets but weren’t.
Messier Marathon Log The earliest of these ‘fuzzy patches’ was found in the Taurus constellation and was known as the Crab Nebula, a relic of an old supernova discovered by Chinese astronomers in 1054. Messier went on a hunt for such ‘comet-like’ objects and prepared a list so that they would not be mistaken for comets in the future by himself and others. The first item in the collection, called Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters, initially issued in three parts, is M1 (Messier 1), the renowned Crab Nebula. There are 110 such entries in total, as shown in the table below. Each of them is an intriguing item in its own way.
| Messier Object | Common Names | Type of Object | Location | Magnitude |
| M1 | The Crab Nebula | Supernova remnant | Taurus | 8.4 |
| M2 | Globular cluster | Aquarius | 6.5 | |
| M3 | Globular cluster | Canes Venatici | 6.4 | |
| M4 | Globular cluster | Scorpius | 5.9 | |
| M5 | Globular cluster | Serpens Caput | 5.8 | |
| M6 | The Butterfly Cluster | Open cluster | Scorpius | 4.2 |
| M7 | Ptolemy’s Cluster | Open cluster | Scorpius | 3.3 |
| M8 | The Lagoon Nebula | Diffuse nebula | Sagittarius | 5.8 |
| M9 | Globular cluster | Ophiuchus | 7.9 | |
| M10 | Globular cluster | Ophiuchus | 6.6 | |
| M11 | The Wild Duck Cluster | Open cluster | Scutum | 5.8 |
| M12 | Globular cluster | Ophiuchus | 6.6 | |
| M13 | Great Hercules Globular Cluster | Globular cluster | Hercules | 5.9 |
| M14 | Globular cluster | Ophiuchus | 7.6 | |
| M15 | Globular cluster | Pegasus | 6.4 | |
| M16 | Part of the Eagle Nebula | Open cluster | Serpens Cauda | 6.0 |
| M17 | The Omega, Swan or Horseshoe Nebula | Diffuse nebula | Sagittarius | 7.0 |
| M18 | Open cluster | Sagittarius | 6.9 | |
| M19 | Globular cluster | Ophiuchus | 7.2 | |
| M20 | The Trifid Nebula | Diffuse nebula | Sagittarius | 8.5 |
| M21 | Open cluster | Sagittarius | 5.9 | |
| M22 | Globular cluster | Sagittarius | 5.1 | |
| M23 | Open cluster | Sagittarius | 5.5 | |
| M24 | Milky Way Patch | Star cloud | Sagittarius | 4.5 |
| M25 | Open cluster | Sagittarius | 4.6 | |
| M26 | Open cluster | Scutum | 8.0 | |
| M27 | The Dumbbell Nebula | Planetary nebula | Vulpecula | 8.1 |
| M28 | Globular cluster | Sagittarius | 6.9 | |
| M29 | Open cluster | Cygnus | 6.6 | |
| M30 | Globular cluster | Capricornus | 7.5 | |
| M31 | The Andromeda Galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Andromeda | 3.4 |
| M32 | Satellite galaxy of M31 | Elliptical galaxy | Andromeda | 8.2 |
| M33 | The Triangulum Galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Triangulum | 5.7 |
| M34 | Open cluster | Perseus | 5.2 | |
| M35 | Open cluster | Gemini | 5.1 | |
| M36 | Open cluster | Auriga | 6.0 | |
| M37 | Open cluster | Auriga | 5.6 | |
| M38 | Open cluster | Auriga | 6.4 | |
| M39 | Open cluster | Cygnus | 4.6 | |
| M40 | Winnecke 4 | Double Star | Ursa Major | 8.0 |
| M41 | Open cluster | Canis Major | 4.5 | |
| M42 | The Great Orion Nebula | Diffuse nebula | Orion | 4.0 |
| M43 | Part of the Orion Nebula | Diffuse nebula | Orion | 9.0 |
| M44 | The Beehive Cluster, Praesepe | Open cluster | Cancer | 3.1 |
| M45 | “The Pleiades or The Seven Sisters | Open cluster | Taurus | 1.2 |
| M46 | Open cluster | Puppis | 6.1 | |
| M47 | Open cluster | Puppis | 4.4 | |
| M48 | Open cluster | Hydra | 5.8 | |
| M49 | Elliptical galaxy | Virgo | 8.4 | |
| M50 | Open cluster | Monoceros | 5.9 | |
| M51 | The Whirlpool Galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Canes Venatici | 8.1 |
| M52 | Open cluster | Cassiopeia | 6.9 | |
| M53 | Globular cluster | Coma Berenices | 7.7 | |
| M54 | Globular cluster | Sagittarius | 7.7 | |
| M55 | Globular cluster | Sagittarius | 7.0 | |
| M56 | Globular cluster | Lyra | 8.2 | |
| M57 | The Ring Nebula | Planetary nebula | Lyra | 9.0 |
| M58 | Spiral galaxy | Virgo | 9.8 | |
| M59 | Elliptical galaxy | Virgo | 9.8 | |
| M60 | Elliptical galaxy | Virgo | 8.8 | |
| M61 | Spiral galaxy | Virgo | 9.7 | |
| M62 | Globular cluster | Ophiuchus | 6.6 | |
| M63 | Sunflower galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Canes Venatici | 8.6 |
| M64 | Blackeye galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Coma Berenices | 8.5 |
| M65 | Spiral galaxy | Leo | 9.3 | |
| M66 | Spiral galaxy | Leo | 9.0 | |
| M67 | Open cluster | Cancer | 6.9 | |
| M68 | Globular cluster | Hydra | 8.2 | |
| M69 | Globular cluster | Sagittarius | 7.7 | |
| M70 | Globular cluster | Sagittarius | 8.1 | |
| M71 | Globular cluster | Sagitta | 8.3 | |
| M72 | Globular cluster | Aquarius | 9.4 | |
| M73 | Open cluster | Aquarius | 5.0 | |
| M74 | Spiral galaxy | Pisces | 9.2 | |
| M75 | Globular cluster | Sagittarius | 8.6 | |
| M76 | The Little Dumbell, Cork, or Butterfly | Planetary nebula | Perseus | 11.5 |
| M77 | Spiral galaxy | Cetus | 8.8 | |
| M78 | diffuse reflection nebula | Orion | 8.0 | |
| M79 | Globular cluster | Lepus | 8.0 | |
| M80 | Globular cluster | Scorpius | 7.2 | |
| M81 | Bode’s Galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Ursa Major | 6.8 |
| M82 | The Cigar Galaxy | Irregular galaxy | Ursa Major | 8.4 |
| M83 | The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Hydra | 10.1 |
| M84 | Lenticular galaxy | Virgo | 9.3 | |
| M85 | Lenticular galaxy | Coma Berenices | 9.3 | |
| M86 | Lenticular galaxy | Virgo | 9.2 | |
| M87 | Virgo A | Elliptical galaxy | Virgo | 8.6 |
| M88 | Spiral galaxy | Coma Berenices | 9.5 | |
| M89 | Elliptical galaxy | Virgo | 9.8 | |
| M90 | Spiral galaxy | Virgo | 9.5 | |
| M91 | Spiral galaxy | Coma Berenices | 10.2 | |
| M92 | Globular cluster | Hercules | 6.5 | |
| M93 | Open cluster | Puppis | 6.2 | |
| M94 | Spiral galaxy | Canes Venatici | 8.1 | |
| M95 | Spiral galaxy | Leo | 9.7 | |
| M96 | Spiral galaxy | Leo | 9.2 | |
| M97 | The Owl Nebula | Planetary nebula | Ursa Major | 11.2 |
| M98 | Spiral galaxy | Coma Berenices | 10.1 | |
| M99 | Spiral galaxy | Coma Berenices | 9.8 | |
| M100 | Spiral galaxy | Coma Berenices | 9.4 | |
| M101 | The Pinwheel Galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Ursa Major | 7.7 |
| M102 | Possible dupe of M101 | Lenticular galaxy | Draco | 10.0 |
| M103 | Open cluster | Cassiopeia | 7.4 | |
| M104 | The Sombrero Galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Virgo | 8.3 |
| M105 | Elliptical galaxy | Leo | 9.3 | |
| M106 | Spiral galaxy | Canes Venatici | 8.3 | |
| M107 | Globular cluster | Ophiuchus | 8.1 | |
| M108 | Spiral galaxy | Ursa Major | 10.0 | |
| M109 | Spiral galaxy | Ursa Major | 9.8 | |
| M110 | Satellite galaxy of M31 | Elliptical galaxy | Andromeda | 8.0 |
Messier Marathon Log: and other Catalogues
The Messier Catalogue is a catalog of intriguing celestial objects that differ from conventional stars. In 1758 French astronomer Charles Messier started collecting a catalog of nebulae- diffuse objects so that they wouldn’t be confused for comets. Each item was assigned an ‘M’ number, which astronomers still use to identify objects today. M45, for example, is the designation for the Pleiades. There are a total of 110 Messier objects.
Amateur astronomers are interested in the Messier Marathon Log catalog since these objects were discovered in the 18th century and are generally bright enough to be seen with a small telescope. Some claim to have seen every single one using such equipment.
An excellent site about the Messier Catalogue can be found at SEDS.org, with detailed information and pictures of each object.
Messier Marathon Log: Some Highlights of the Messier Catalogue
- M13 Great Hercules Cluster
- M31 Andromeda Galaxy
- M42 Great Orion Nebula
- M44 Beehive Cluster
- M45 Pleiades
Messier Marathon Log: Star Catalogues
Certain stars have been given names since antiquity. However, not all stars can be given a proper name, and such a system would just be confusing, providing no information about the star’s location. Here are some of the several terms for stars and their significance.
- Greek-letter system
One of the earliest attempts to catalog the stars was the greek-letter system, devised in the early 17th century. According to this system, stars are named according to their constellations, and assigned a greek letter, usually according to their brightness. For example, the brightest star in Lyra (Vega) is given the name Alpha Lyrae. The second brightest is called Beta Lyrae then Gamma, Delta Lyrae, and so on. This is useful to amateur astronomers as it mainly covers the stars we can see, and gives us some idea of their whereabouts and their brightness. - Flamsteed numbers
Later on, in the 18th Century astronomer John Flamsteed introduced a numbering system for stars in each constellation, where visible stars are numbered Eastwards, so the Eastern-most star in Centaurus is 1 Centauri, the second 2 Centauri, etc. - BD system
BD, the Bonner Durchmunsterung (Bonn Survey) system came next as telescopes were revealing hundreds of thousands of stars. The sky was divided up into 1-degree bands of Declination, and stars were numbered according to where they came around the circle. For instance, the star BD + 52°1245 is the 1,245th star (counting from Right Ascension 0°) in the area between 51° and 52° declination. - SAO catalog
SAO, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory star catalog, is one of the most widely-used catalogs today. It covers most stars down to about the 9th Magnitude, in which stars are numbered according to their Right Ascension coordinates. We hope you have enjoyed this read on Messier Marathon Log.
