| Charles Messier |
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Charles Messier ( June 26 , 1730 – April 12 , 1817 ) was a French Astronomer who in 1774 published a catalogue of 45 Deep Sky Objects such as Nebula e and Star Cluster s. The purpose of the catalogue was to help Comet hunters (like himself) and other astronomical observers to distinguish between permanent and transient objects in the sky. Messier was born in Badonviller, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France , the 10th of 12 children of Catchpole Nicolas Messier and Francoise b. Grandblaise. Six of his brothers and sisters died young, and in 1741, his father died. Charles interest in astronomy was stimulated by the appearance of a great 6-tailed comet in 1744 and by an annular Solar eclipse visible from his hometown on July 25, 1748. In 1751 came under the employ of the astronomer of the Navy, Joseph Nicolas Delisle , who instructed him to keep careful records of his observations. Messier's first documented observation was that of the Mercury transit of May 6, 1753. His catalogue By 1781 the Catalogue had grown to 110 ' Messier Object s'. The objects' designations, from M1 to M110, are mostly still in use today. The catalog comprises some of the most important objects in the night sky - from the Crab Nebula (M1) to a small elliptical galaxy near Andromeda (M110). In Messier Marathon s, many amateur astronomers compete to view all 110 of these objects in a single dusk-to-dawn session, usually in March, when conditions are most favorable. The Messier Crater on the Moon and the Asteroid 7359 Messier were named in his honor. External links |