The Messier Catalog

Messier objects are celestial bodies that were observed by Charles Messier throughout his career. During his lifetime, any person who found a new comet became well known amongst their peers, but, also became a celebrity. Messier lived in what could be considered precarious times for professional astronomers. There were few jobs, so if you did make new discoveries you did not have a job.

Each Messier object is a body that first appeared to be a comet, but is not. Messier compiled a list of these objects in several additions; eventually ending with a total of 103 objects during his lifetime. His work was limited by the fact that he lived in the Northern Hemisphere, so could only observe objects that appeared in the night sky above 35.7° latitude.

It can be difficult to observe the entire Messier list. In addition to the 103 Messier compiled, his assistant and other researchers followed up on his side notes and astronomers now believe his list should contain a total of 110 objects. These objects are an interesting challenge for amateur astronomers to find, so there are several astronomical associations that offer rewards to anyone who observes them. A simple web search will garner you the information you need to participate.

Below is a set of links to an introduction to Messier objects as well as a link to an article about each of the individual Messier objects. Enjoy your research, then enjoy your observations.

• Introduction to the Messier Objects
• Messier Object 1 – M1
• Messier Object 2 – M2
• Messier Object 3 – M3
• Messier Object 4 – M4
• Messier Object 5 – M5
• Messier Object 6 – M6
• Messier Object 7 – M7
• Messier Object 8 – M8
• Messier Object 9 – M9
• Messier Object 10 – M10
• Messier Object 11 – M11
• Messier Object 12 – M12
• Messier Object 13 – M13
• Messier Object 14 – M14
• Messier Object 15 – M15
• Messier Object 16 – M16
• Messier Object 17 – M17
• Messier Object 18 – M18
• Messier Object 19 – M19
• Messier Object 20 – M20
• Messier Object 21 – M21
• Messier Object 22 – M22
• Messier Object 23 – M23
• Messier Object 24 – M24
• Messier Object 25 – M25
• Messier Object 26 – M26
• Messier Object 27 – M27
• Messier Object 28 – M28
• Messier Object 29 – M29
• Messier Object 30 – M30
• Messier Object 31 – M31
• Messier Object 32 – M32
• Messier Object 33 – M33
• Messier Object 34 – M34
• Messier Object 35 – M35
• Messier Object 36 – M36
• Messier Object 37 – M37
• Messier Object 38 – M38
• Messier Object 39 – M39
• Messier Object 40 – M40
• Messier Object 41 – M41
• Messier Object 42 – M42
• Messier Object 43 – M43
• Messier Object 44 – M44
• Messier Object 45 – M45
• Messier Object 46 – M46
• Messier Object 47 – M47
• Messier Object 48 – M48
• Messier Object 49 – M49
• Messier Object 50 – M50
• Messier Object 51 – M51
• Messier Object 52 – M52
• Messier Object 53 – M53
• Messier Object 54 – M54
• Messier Object 55 – M55
• Messier Object 56 – M56
• Messier Object 57 – M57
• Messier Object 58 – M58
• Messier Object 59 – M59
• Messier Object 60 – M60
• Messier Object 61 – M61
• Messier Object 62 – M62
• Messier Object 63 – M63
• Messier Object 64 – M64
• Messier Object 65 – M65
• Messier Object 66 – M66
• Messier Object 67 – M67
• Messier Object 68 – M68
• Messier Object 69 – M69
• Messier Object 70 – M70
• Messier Object 71 – M71
• Messier Object 72 – M72
• Messier Object 73 – M73
• Messier Object 74 – M74
• Messier Object 75 – M75
• Messier Object 76 – M76
• Messier Object 77 – M77
• Messier Object 78 – M78
• Messier Object 79 – M79
• Messier Object 80 – M80
• Messier Object 81 – M81
• Messier Object 82 – M82
• Messier Object 83 – M83
• Messier Object 84 – M84
• Messier Object 85 – M85
• Messier Object 86 – M86
• Messier Object 87 – M87
• Messier Object 88 – M88
• Messier Object 89 – M89
• Messier Object 90 – M90
• Messier Object 91 – M91
• Messier Object 92 – M92
• Messier Object 93 – M93
• Messier Object 94 – M94
• Messier Object 95 – M95
• Messier Object 96 – M96
• Messier Object 97 – M97
• Messier Object 98 – M98
• Messier Object 99 – M99
• Messier Object 100 – M100
• Messier Object 101 – M101
• Messier Object 102 – M102
• Messier Object 103 – M103
• Messier Object 104 – M104
• Messier Object 105 – M105
• Messier Object 106 – M106
• Messier Object 107 – M107
• Messier Object 108 – M108
• Messier Object 109 – M109
• Messier Object 110 – M110
• The Messier Marathon
• The Week Long Messier Marathon