MESSIER OBJECTS

Charles Messier is the creator of the list of "nebulous" objects which are referred to as Messier objects and are identified by  the letter "M" followed by a number from 1 through 110.  Messier lived in France, which is in the Northern Hemisphere, so the Messier object list is void of any objects viewable solely in southern latitudes.  Conversely, some of the Messier objects are not visible in southern latitudes.  There are a number of Galaxies in the Messier list, but when Charles Messier catalogued them, he did not know they were galaxies.  He believed them to be nebulae.  In fact, his first list was published as a catalogue called Nebulae and Star Clusters in 1774.  All of the Messier objects are also contained in the NGC catalogue.

This catalogue is probably the most popular with amateur astronomers, especially beginners.  It contains galaxies, nebula, and supernova remnants.  Messier objects are amongst the brightest in the sky, hence amongst the easiest to find. Then again, if you have a GOTO scope, then its not much of an issue for you anyway.  They can all be viewed with a small telescope or even binoculars.  Messier considered himself a comet hunter.  The reason why he catalogued the objects was so that he and other comet hunters could tell whether or not a new comet has been located.   The Messier objects appear stationary in the sky and any potential comets would be transitory.

A Messier marathon is a common astronomy event, especially in the fall.  This is when a group of astronomers (or someone individually, but that's not as much fun) get together and try to view all of the Messier objects in one night.