South Common Observatory

Astrophotography by Richie Jarvis

Messier Objects

Charles Messier (1730–1817) was a French astronomer best known for his “Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters.” An avid comet-hunter, Messier compiled a catalog of deep-sky objects in order to help prevent other comet enthusiasts from wasting their time studying objects that were not comets. (Text from: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/)

Messier DesignationCommon NameExample PictureNGC Designation
Messier 1Crab NebulaNGC1952
Messier 13Great Globular Cluster in Hercules NGC6205
Messier 27Dumbell NebulaNGC6852
Messier 31Andromeda GalaxyNGC0224

Messier 13 – Globular Cluster
Messier 42 – Great Orion Nebula
Messier 42 – Great Orion Nebula
Messier 42 – Great Orion Nebula
Messier 42 – Great Orion Nebula
Messier 45 – Pleiades Cluster
Messier 45 – Pleiades Cluster
Messier 51 – Whirlpool Galaxy
Messier 51 – Whirlpool Galaxy
Messier 51 – Whirlpool Galaxy
Messier 57 – Ring Nebula
Messier 57 – Ring Nebula
Messier 81
Messier 97 – Owl Nebula
Messier 101 – Pinwheel Galaxy
Messier 16 – Eagle Nebula
Date: 2015-04-08 Scope: APM/TMB 115mm @ F/5.6 Camera: Starlight Xpress Trius SX-814 Guide Scope: Starlight Xpress Off-Axis Guider Guide Camera: SX Lodestar X2 Exposure (L): 11 x 600 seconds Exposure (Ha): 8 x 1200 seconds (combined with red channel) Exposure (RGB): x 300 seconds