"Messier Object"," In the 18th Century Charles Messier, a comet hunter, compiled a list of all non-comet objects so that during his search he could ignore these ""boring"" objects and focus on his comet hunting.
The messier object list ranges from nebulae, to clusters, to galaxies.
The current list, added to by several astronomers after Messier stopped his work, totals 110 messier object ranging from M1 to M110.
The most appealing thing about the messier list is that almost the entire list of visible in binoculars or small telescopes under good conditions.
A messier marathon is available once a year in Spring, when it is possible for an experienced observer in good conditions to view all 110 messier object in one evening.
One limitation of the messier list is that it only lists objects in the Northern Hemisphere, so you will need to look elsewhere for Southern Hemisphere lists.
And though it is not for the initial purpose that Charles Messier intended, it is providing countless astronomers with the awe and wonder of our universe.
catch it here
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