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56 • The Messier Catalog
THE MESSIER CATALOGTHE MESSIER CATALOG
THE MESSIER CATALOGTHE MESSIER CATALOG
THE MESSIER CATALOG
The Messier Catalog, compiled by Charles Messier, was the first extensive listing of star clusters and nebulae.
Messier’s primary observational purpose was to discover comets. He compiled this list so that others searching
for comets would not be confused by these objects. His list still remains popular today because all of these
objects are easily visible in amateur telescopes.
M#M#
M#M#
M#
NGC#NGC#
NGC#NGC#
NGC#
Const.Const.
Const.Const.
Const.
R.A.R.A.
R.A.R.A.
R.A.
DECDEC
DECDEC
DEC
MagMag
MagMag
Mag
TypeType
TypeType
Type
Proper NameProper Name
Proper NameProper Name
Proper Name
H M SH M S
H M SH M S
H M S
° ‘° ‘
° ‘° ‘
° ‘
M1 NGC 1952 Tau 5 34.5 22 01 8.4 P. Neb. Crab Nebula
M2 NGC 7089 Aqr 21 33.5 -00 49 6.5 Gl. Cl.
M3 NGC 5272 CVn 13 42.2 28 23 6.4 Gl. Cl.
M4 NGC 6121 S co 16 23.6 -26 32 5.9 Gl. Cl.
M5 NGC 5904 Ser 15 18.5 2 05 5.8 Gl. Cl.
M6 NGC 6405 S co 17 40.0 -32 13 4.2 Op. Cl. Butterfly Cluster
M7 NGC 6475 S co 17 54.0 -34 49 3.3 Op. Cl.
M8 NGC 6523 Sgr 18 03.7 -24 23 5.8 D. Neb. Lagoon Nebula
M9 NGC 6333 Oph 17 19.2 -18 31 7.9 Gl. Cl.
M10 NGC 6254 Oph 16 57.2 -4 06 6.6 Gl. Cl.
M11 NGC 6705 Sct 18 51.1 -6 16 5.8 Op. Cl. Wild Duck Cluster
M12 NGC 6218 Oph 16 47.2 -1 57 6.6 Gl. Cl.
M13 NGC 6205 Her 16 41.7 36 28 5.9 Gl. Cl. Hercules Cluster
M14 NGC 6402 Oph 17 37.6 -3 15 7.6 Gl. Cl.
M15 NGC 7078 Pe g 21 30.0 12 10 6.4 Gl. Cl.
M16 NGC 6611 Ser 18 18.9 -13 47 6.0 D. Neb. Eagle Nebula
M17 NGC 6618 Sgr 18 20.8 -16 11 7.0 D. Neb. Omega Nebula
M18 NGC 6613 Sgr 18 19.9 -17 08 6.9 Op. Cl.
M19 NGC 6273 Oph 17 02.6 -26 16 7.2 Gl. Cl.
M20 NGC 6514 Sgr 18 02.4 -23 02 8.5 D. Neb. Trifid Nebula
M21 NGC 6531 Sgr 18 04.7 -22 30 5.9 Op. Cl.
M22 NGC 6656 Sgr 18 36.4 -23 54 5.1 Gl. Cl.
M23 NGC 6494 Sgr 17 56.9 -19 01 5.5 Op. Cl.
M24 NGC 6603 Sgr 18 16.4 -18 29 4.5 Op. Cl.
M25 IC 4725 Sgr 18 31.7 -19 15 4.6 Op. Cl.
M26 NGC 6694 S ct 18 45.2 -9 24 8.0 Op. Cl.
M27 NGC 6853 Vul 19 59.6 22 43 8.1 P. Neb. Dumbbell Nebula
M28 NGC 6626 Sgr 18 24.6 -24 52 6.9 Gl. Cl.
M29 NGC 6913 Cyg 20 23.0 38 32 6.6 Op. Cl.
M30 NGC 7099 Cap 21 40.4 -23 11 7.5 Gl. Cl.
M31 NGC 224 And 0 42.7 41 16 3.4 Sp. Gx. Andromeda Galaxy
M32 NGC 221 And 0 42.7 40 52 8.2 El. Gx.
M33 NGC 598 Tri 1 33.8 30 39 5.7 Sp. Gx. Pinwheel Galaxy
M34 NGC 1039 Per 2 42.0 42 47 5.2 Op. Cl.
M35 NGC 2168 Gem 6 08.8 24 20 5.1 Op. Cl.