Resources:
Based on SEDS http://www.messier.seds.org/Messier.html
Atlas of the Messier Objects: Highlights of the Deep Sky by Ronald Stoyan
Deep Sky Companions: The Messier Objects By Stephen O’Meara
Messier Nebulae & Star Clusters by Kenneth Glyn Jones
The Search for the Nebulae by Kenneth Glyn Jones
The Year-round Messier Marathon by Harvard Pennington
Equipment:
Naked Eyes
Binoculars
Small Telescopes
Big Telescopes
Charles Messier – French astronomer who lived 1730 – 1817
Published a catalogue of ~100 Nebulae, Stars and Star Clusters to help early telescope users differentiate permanent objects from transient comets. Later expanded to 110 which have become known as the Messier Objects and denoted with a preceding M followed by a number.
The 10th of 12 children though most of his brothers and sisters died during childhood as was the custom in those days. His interest in astronomy was ignited at the age of 14 when he witnessed the great six-tailed comet of 1744 followed by an annular solar eclipse visible from his home in 1748.
Employed by Joe Delisle starting in 1751 he would remain at the Hotel de Cluny making observations for the French Navy.
Messier did not discover all 110 objects, many came from his friend and assistant Pierre Mechain.
Messier’s instruments:
- Ordinary refractor of 25 foot FL, Mag. 138x
- Achromatic refractor, 10.5 foot FL, owned by M. de Courtanvaux, Mag. 120x
- Achromatic refractor, 3.25 foot FL (Dollond), owned by Duc de Chaulnes, Mag. 120x
- Ordinary refractor of 23 foot FL, Mag. 102x
- Ordinary refractor of 30 foot FL, owned by M. Baudouin, Mag. 117x
- Campani refractor, owned by M. Maraldi, Mag. 64x
- Gregorian reflector (‘Short’) 6 feet FL, owned by M. Lemonnier, Mag. 110x
- Gregorian reflector 30 feet FL, 6 inch aperture, Mag. 104x
- Newtonian reflector 4.5 foot FL, Mag. 60x
- Refractor 1 foot FL, 3-inch aperture, owned by M. de Saron, Mag. 44x
- Refractor 19 foot FL, of the Paris Observatory, Mag. 76x
His first list of 45 objects was published in 1774 with final version of 103 objects appearing in 1784 in Connaissance des Tempts. The list was meant to aid Messier and other astronomers of the day who were focused on hunting comets and Deep Sky nuisance objects sometimes masqueraded as comets esp. in twilight or moonlight conditions.
He discovered 13 comets and co-discovered others…ironically, it is not his comets he is know for but the deep sky inconvenience objects.
A few decades ago a guy named Don Macholz came up with the idea of a Messier Marathon, an attempt to see all messier objects in one night since they are all above the horizon during the springtime each year.
Disc. by Messier in 1764 This is a very large (larger than the full moon) face on spiral galaxy in the constellation Triangulum. M33 is about magnitude 5.3, but when spread out over its large area it has a very low surface brightness. The best and easiest views of M33 can be found with a pair of binoculars. Look for a large, round hazy patch of light with little detail at first glance. M33 can be glimpsed with the naked eye in dark clear skies. Finding M33 in a telescope can be a challenge because of its size. To help locate, use the widest field eyepiece you have and look for a change in background light levels. Telescope users can hunt down star forming regions, the brighted knot NGC 604 is in the NE arm. Lord Ross Sketch at right.
This is a fairly small, sparse open cluster in Cassiopeia first seen by Mechain in 1781. Look for a tight group of stars in binoculars, be careful not to mistake it for pne of the other clusters in the area. Through a telescope the cluster is very sparse, four bright stars amidst the slight glow of faint stars.
Discovered by Messier in 1774. A rich open cluster also in Cassiopeia and is easy to see in binoculars as a faint smudge of light. A small to mid telescope will begin to resolve this cluster. Look for a triangular patch of light with some stars clearly resolved, but most of the cluster members provide only a hint of graininess.
M52 sits in a long chain of nebulae and clusters up in the Cassiopeia / Perseus MW.
First seen by Mechain in 1780. Known as the little dumbell, this planetary nebula in Perseus is one of the faintest objects in the Messier Catalog. Look for a small, faint, oblong patch of light. Not a very obvious object, if you don’t see it at first try varying magnifications in an attempt to bring it out. Fortunately M76 is located near a bright star which aids in locating the correct field to search.
This was my nemesis Messier Object
This is a large and bright, but sparse open cluster located in Perseus. First seen by Sicilian Hodierna in the early 1600’s. Visible as a faint patch of light to the naked eye, it is very obvious and easy to resolve in binoculars. In fact, binoculars provide a better view of this cluster than most telescopes as they can magnify it out of existence appearing as a scattering of bright stars.
This galaxy in Pisces is a smaller and fainter version of M33, a face on spiral galaxy with low surface brightness. M74 is arguably the most difficult object to find in the Catalog making Mechain’s 1780 discovery remarkable. You will need very dark, clear skies to easily see it, anything less than perfect conditions will make M74 nearly impossible to find. Look for a very faint fuzzy star, which is the bright central condensation, surrounded by a very faint glow. Try all of your tricks on this one; star hop to the correct field, try varying magnification, tap the scope to detect the galaxy through its motion. If all of the above fail, try again another night or seek darker skies.
This small, faint galaxy in Cetus is another Mechain discovery from 1780. Possible to see in binoculars, but very difficult, look for a faint fuzzy star. Through a telescope look for a fuzzy, oval shaped patch of light, bright in the center, fading towards the edges.
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