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