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<html><head> <title>SEDS Messier Database</title> <link rev="owner" title="Contact Maintainer" href="http://messier.seds.org/Contact/contact.html"> <meta name="keywords" content="Messier, Astronomy, Deep Sky, Messier Objects, Messier Catalog, Galaxies, Nebulae, Star Clusters, SEDS"> <meta name="author" content="Hartmut Frommert, Christine Kronberg, Guy McArthur, Mark Elowitz"> <meta name="distribution" content="global"> </head> <body bgcolor="#000000" text="#aaaaff" link="#eeeeee" vlink="#eeeeee"> <center> <h2> <a href="http://www.seds.org/"><img src="Jco/seds38.jpg" alt="[SEDS]" align=left border=0></a> <!a href="http://www.maa.clell.de/"><img src="Jco/maa38.jpg" alt="[MAA]" align=right border=0><!/a> THE MESSIER CATALOG </h2> </center> <hr size=4 noshade> <! -------- !> <!b> <!ul> <li><a href="xtra/supp/sla2017.html">Hommage for Charles Messier</a> on the occasion of his 200th Anniversary of Death, hosted by the <a href="http://www.astronomie54.fr">Société Lorraine d'Astronomie (SLA)</a>, Badonviller, April 21-22, 2017 <li><a href="xtra/sla2017/sla2017sf.html">Images from the Days of Hommage for Messier 2017</a> (by Sonja Frommert) <li>The Messier Marathon community mourns the loss of <a href="xtra/Bios/machholz.html">Don Machholz</a> (October 7, 1952 - August 9, 2022), co-inventor and record-breaking Messier Marathoner. <a href="https://donmachholz.com/">Don Machholz commemorative site</a> <li>The History of Astronomy Community is mourning the loss of <a href="xtra/Bios/debarbat.html">Suzanne Débarbat</a> (September 4, 1928 - August 6, 2024), French "Grande Dame de l'Astronomie": <a href="https://saf-astronomie.fr/suzanne-debarbat-1928-2024-une-grande-dame-de-lastronomie-nous-a-quittes/"> Suzanne Débarbat Obituary</a> by the Société Astronomique de France (SAF) Obituary</a> (in French) <li><a href="xtra/marathon/marathon.html">Messier Marathoners</a>: <a href="Contact/contact.html">Contribute</a> your <a href="xtra/marathon/results.html">results</a>! (<a href="xtra/marathon/mm2025.html">2025</a> and earlier) <li><a href="xtra/marathon/marathon.html">Messier Marathon Holders</a>: Please <a href="Contact/contact.html">notify us</a> of any scheduled events for the <a href="xtra/marathon/mm2025.html">Messier Marathon 2025</a>! <li><a href="xtra/marathon/aj2015.html">A.J. Crayon's Analysis of Messier Marathons, as of April 27, 2015</a> - <a href="xtra/marathon/aj2011.html">A.J.'s First Analysis as of 2011</a> <li><a href="xtra/supp/sne-m.html">Supernovae in Messier Catalog Galaxies</a> - Supernova 2023dbc in <a href="m/m108.html">M108</a> and Supernova 2023ixf in <a href="m/m101.html">M101</a> <!/ul> <hr> <a href="upd-m.html">Webmasters: Semi-recent updates for linking our pages</a> <!/b> <hr size=4 noshade> <! -------- !> <!a href="http://www.maa.clell.de/Messier/D/"> <img src="Jco/flag_ger.jpg" alt="[de]"><!/a> <a href="http://astrolink.mclink.it/messier/Messier.html"> <img src="Jco/flag_it.jpg" alt="[it]"></a> <a href="http://messier.obspm.fr/Messier_f.html"> <img src="Jco/flag_fr.jpg" alt="[fr]"></a> <center> <a href="Pics/M/MESSIERS-BIG.jpg"> <img border=0 align=right src="Pics/M/MESSIERS.jpg" alt="[BIG MESSIER POSTER]"></a> <a href="m/m001.html"><img src="Jco/forward.jpg" alt="" border=0> <img src="Jco/forward.jpg" alt="Start with M1" border=0></a> Index of Messier objects with <a href="data2.html">image icons</a> or in <a href="data3.html">text mode</a> <a href="m-features.html">Messier Features</a> - <a href="hottest.html">hot stuff</a> <a href="objects.html#nebula"><img src="Jco/nebula.ico.jpg" alt="" border=0> Look at Nebulae</a> <a href="objects.html#cluster"><img src="Jco/globular.ico.jpg" alt="" border=0> Look at Star Clusters</a> <a href="objects.html#galaxy"><img src="Jco/galaxy.ico.jpg" alt="" border=0> Look at Galaxies</a> </center> <hr size=4 noshade> <a href="Pics/M/CM.jpg"> <img src="Pics/M/CM_sm.jpg" alt="[Charles Messier Portrait]" align=right></a> During the years from 1758 to 1782 <a href="xtra/history/CMessier.html">Charles Messier</a>, a French astronomer (<a href="xtra/history/biograph.html">1730 - 1817</a>), compiled <a href="xtra/history/m-cat.html">a list</a> of approximately 100 diffuse objects that were difficult to distinguish from comets through the telescopes of the day. <a href="xtra/history/m-comets.html">Discovering comets</a> was the way to make a name for yourself in astronomy in the 18th century -- Messier's first aim was to catalog the objects that were often mistaken for comets. Fortunately for us, the <a href="xtra/history/m-cat.html">Messier Catalog</a> became well known for a much higher purpose, as a collection of the most beautiful objects in the sky including <a href="nebula.html">nebulae</a>, <a href="cluster.html">star clusters</a>, and <a href="galaxy.html">galaxies</a>. It was one of the first major milestones in the <a href="xtra/history/deepskyd.html"> history of the discovery of Deep Sky objects</a>, as it was the first more comprehensive and more reliable list: Only four or five objects were initially <a href="missing.html">missing</a> because of data reduction errors, which could be figured out later though. Today's versions of the catalog usually include also <a href="addition.html">later additions</a> of objects observed by <a href="xtra/history/biograph.html">Charles Messier</a> and his collegial friend, <a href="xtra/history/pmechain.html">Pierre Méchain</a>, but not included in his original list. The study of these objects by astronomers has led, and continues to lead, to important, incredible discoveries such as the life cycles of stars, the reality of galaxies as separate 'island universes,' and the possible age of the universe. The purpose of these web pages is to provide a complete guide to the 110 objects recognized as the standard Messier catalog. More importantly, we would like to <a href="xtra/intro/intro.html">generate interest in astronomy</a>, the night sky and the universe beyond us, and to encourage a sense of wonder and exploration. We also hope that these pages may be useful as a reference for amateur astronomers. For each object, an image is presented together with a short description; click on the image to get a larger-format version. In addition to the images, we have also included some data on these objects such as celestial position (right ascension in hours and minutes [h:m], declination in degrees and minutes [deg:m], both for the epoch J2000.0), apparent visual brightness in magnitudes [mag], apparent (angular) diameter in arc minutes [arc min], and approximate distance in thousands of light-years (kilo-light years [kly] please note that the decimal point in the distance does not represent true accuracy; <a href="xtra/Terms/terms.html">see explanation of the terms used here</a>). Also, we have <a href="map/map.html">constellation images</a> which show Messier and <a href="xtra/ngc/ngc.html">NGC (New General Catalog) objects</a> down to 12th magnitude. Technically, we try to keep these pages appealing and usable for users of all HTML browser technologies, with some focus on backward compatibility for old browsers. Therefore, whereever possible, we restrict ourselves to the strict and pure HTML standards and don't plan to add proprietary features of certain browsers, styles, scripting etc. Moreover, we try to keep the pages appealing (or at least readable) under less advanced browsers such as Mosaic or Lynx; <a href="Contact/contact.html">please complain</a> if your browser has certain problems ! We thank all who have expressed interest in these pages, and have sent us e-mail with suggestions and corrections. The contributions of others have significantly influenced what the pages are now. We hope to further approach the state of a top-of-the line resource with in-depth information including object descriptions, "star-hop" techniques to easily locate the objects with small telescopes, and more. If you'd like to help us to improve our database, please also check our <a href="m-rfi.html">request for information list</a> which contains those data which most urgently need to be confirmed, improved, or contributed. These pages were <a href="creation.html">created</a>, with the help of many volunteers, by <a href="http://pirlwww.lpl.arizona.edu/~guym/">Guy McArthur</a>, <!a href="http://www.markelowitz.com/Mark.html">Mark Elowitz<!/a>, <a href="http://spider.seds.org/">Hartmut Frommert</a> and <!a href="http://www.maa.clell.de/P/smil.html">Christine Kronberg<!/a>. Hartmut Frommert <a href="Contact/contact.html">[contact]</a> is currently maintaining this service and responsible for the current contents (especially any errors). If you have anything to contribute, or find any errors, please <a href="Contact/contact.html">contact me</a>. Any constructive feedback is highly appreciated! <hr size=4 noshade> <h3>Awards</h3> <center> <a href="award/award.html"><img src="Pics/Award/awards.jpg" alt="[Awards]"></a> </center> <hr size=4 noshade> <h2>Other Options</h2> <ul> <li><a href="m/mindex.html">Messier Object Index</a> for quick navigation <li><a href="m-names.html">Messier Object Names</a> <li><a href="icosheet.html">Icon Sheet</a>: Clickable icons for all Messier objects in one screen, or static <a href="Pics/M/110Ms.jpg">Messier poster</a> (195k jpg) <li><a href="xtra/poster.html">Various Messier posters</a> <li>View Messier objects by Constellation in <a href="CONindex1.html">image icons</a> or in <a href="CONindex2.html">text mode</a> <li>View Messier objects by <a href="dataRA.html">Right Ascension</a>, by <a href="dataDec.html">Declination</a>, or by <a href="dataMag.html">visual magnitude</a> <li>View the Messier Datafile with <a href="data.html">image icons</a> or in <a href="data1.html">text mode</a> <li><a href="xtra/history/m-cat.html">The original Messier Catalog</a>, (translation to English) and <a href="xtra/Mcat/mcat1781.html">Scans of the original Messier Catalog of 1781</a> (obtained from the copy of the Bureau des Longitudes, Paris). <li>A List of other <a href="m-goodie.html">Messier Goodies</a> <li><a href="browser/brmindex.html">Quick browser</a> for our Messier images <li>Messier Object Photo List in <a href="photos/photos.html">image icons</a> or in <a href="photos/photos1.html">text mode</a> (including world wide links - ..under reconstruction!) <li><a href="xtra/marathon/marathon.html">The Messier Marathon</a>: Observe all Messier objects in one night ! (or at least as much as you can; <a href="xtra/marathon/results.html">others did it before</a> ..) <li>Tony Cecce's <a href="xtra/12months/12months.html"> Twelve Month Tour of the Messier Catalog</a> <li>Jeff Bondono's <a href="xtra/supp/messymag.txt">Messier Object references</a> in magazines and books (hosted at SEDS) <li>Featuring: <a href="xtra/mootw/mootw.html">Messier Object Of The Week</a> <li><a href="m-q&a.html">Messier Questions and Answers</a>: More interesting questions on Messier and his catalogs <li>Messier Catalog <a href="xtra/anim.html">Animations</a> and <a href="xtra/ia.html">Interactive Options</a>. OS/2 Web Explorer users may enjoy our Messier related <a href="xtra/webxanim/webxanim.html">Web Explorer animations</a> </ul> The Messier pages now have <a href="mirrors.html">mirrors and translations to other languages</a> (notably a <!a href="http://www.maa.clell.de/Messier/D/">German<!/a>, an <a href="http://astrolink.mclink.it/messier/Messier.html">Italian</a>, and a <a href="http://messier.obspm.fr/Messier_f.html">French</a> version); for fastest access, please look for your nearest mirror. Note: Parts of this is still in the making ! <h2>Links</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.astronexus.com/">Dave Nash</a> has created <a href="https://endeavour.astronexus.com/v-m">Virtual Messier</a>, a graphical interface to access our Messier Catalog database <li><a href="dssm/dsindex.html">Messier Images</a> from the Digital Sky Survey (DSSM; originally collected by <a href="http://arnett.us.com/">Bill Arnett</a>) <li>Dead link! <!a href="http://files.seds.org/pub/info/messier/">Messier info<!/a> on the <!a href="http://files.seds.org/pub/">SEDS ftp server<!/a> <li>The <a href="more/m-hubble.html">Hubble Space Telescope</a> and the Messier Objects <li><a href="m-obs.html">Observations</a>! Descriptions of the Messier objects from observations by astronomers (mostly amateurs) <li><a href="m-more.html">More links to Messier related resources</a> <li><a href="https://nineplanets.org/the-web-nebulae/">The Web Nebulae</a> by <a href="http://arnett.us.com/">Bill Arnett</a>. Includes many bright deep-sky objects not in the Messier Catalog <li><a href="https://images.datacentral.org.au/malin/home">AAO Astrophotos</a>: Premium astrophotos by David Malin, including some Messier objects <li><a href="http://spider.seds.org/ngc/ngc.html">NGC Online</a>: Searchable index for the NGC 2000 catalog with some features <li>Dead Link! SEDS Deep-sky Image FTP Archive: <!a href="http://files.seds.org/pub/images/">Root to all images<!/a>; <!a href="http://files.seds.org/pub/images/deepspace/">Deep Sky images<!/a>; <!a href="http://files.seds.org/pub/images/ccd/">CCD images (often amateur)<!/a>; <!a href="http://files.seds.org/pub/images/hst/">Hubble Space Telescope images<!/a> <li>Dead Link! <!a href="http://ethel.as.arizona.edu/astro_club/image.html"> UA Astronomy Club CCD Gallery<!/a> <li><a href="deep-l.html">Deep Sky Image Sites</a>: More links to astronomical internet sites with fine images, of Messier and other Deep Sky objects. Some of them have served as sources for these pages <li><a href="http://maps.seds.org/Const/constS.html">Constellation pages</a> by <!a href="http://www.maa.clell.de/P/smil.html">Christine Kronberg<!/a> <li><a href="m-links.html">More Astronomy and Space</a>: Links to Astronomical and Space-Related Internet Resources </ul> While Messier's catalog was the first major reliable collection of deep-sky showpieces, and without doubt the most famous and important, others have followed since, including <a href="xtra/similar/similar.html">similar collections</a> suitable e.g. for the amateur. <a href="creation.html">Learn How these pages were created</a>. The materials in these pages (especially the images) may be freely used for private purpose only; please read <a href="usage.html">our usage regulations page</a> if you intend any other kind of (especially for-profit) usage. <hr size=4 noshade> <img src="Jco/messier.jpg" alt="" align=right> The SEDS icon in these pages always leads to the <a href="http://www.seds.org/">SEDS homepage</a>, the MAA icon to the <!a href="http://www.maa.clell.de/">MAA homepage<!/a>, and the icon with Charles Messier's image to this Messier homepage. In addition to this, and the other icons shown above, icons occur in these pages for the following options (in doubt, please check this [hopefully] <a href="iconref.html">complete icon reference</a>): <a href="indexes.html"><img src="Jco/sheet.ico.jpg" alt="">Indexes</a> or <a href="icosheet.html">Icon sheet</a>, <a href="browser/brmindex.html"><img src="Jco/browser.jpg" alt=""> Quick Browser</a>, <a href="dssm/dsindex.html"><img src="Jco/dssm.jpg" alt="">DSSM image browser</a> <hr> Note: Because of massive amounts of work pending, responses to any kind of correspondence may be significantly delayed (nevertheless, your input is appreciated). Also, updates of these webpages are still in slow mode with a long queue of stuff still to be worked in; sorry for any inconveniences this may cause. <hr> Last Modification: February 23, 2025 Former Definitive Version: February 25, 2008 </body></html>