Messier Objects
33 entries in the Messier Objects compendium.
Messier objectA famous catalogue of deep-sky objects compiled by Charles Messier.Messier marathonAn all-night hunt for all 110 Messier objects.Crab NebulaFirst astronomical object linked to a historically observed supernova.Messier 2A large, old globular cluster in Aquarius, discovered in 1746.Messier 3One of the largest and brightest globular clusters, with 500,000 stars.Messier 4The closest globular cluster to the Solar System.Messier 5A globular cluster in Serpens, discovered by Gottfried Kirch in 1702.Butterfly ClusterAn open cluster in Scorpius named for its butterfly shape.Messier 7Southernmost Messier object, visible to the naked eye.Lagoon NebulaA giant emission nebula visible to the naked eye from mid-northern latitudes.Messier 9Globular cluster in Ophiuchus, discovered by Charles Messier in 1764.Messier 10A globular cluster in Ophiuchus with moderate metal-poor stars.Wild Duck ClusterA rich, compact open cluster in Scutum, discovered in 1681.Messier 12A loosely packed globular cluster in Ophiuchus.Messier 13A magnificent globular cluster of hundreds of thousands of stars.Messier 14Globular cluster in Ophiuchus discovered by Charles Messier in 1764.Messier 15An ancient, dense globular cluster in Pegasus with a collapsed core.Eagle NebulaA star-forming nebula featuring the iconic Pillars of Creation.Omega NebulaA bright star-forming nebula in Sagittarius, catalogued as Messier 17.Messier 19A highly oblate globular cluster near the Galactic Center.Messier 21Young open cluster near the Trifid Nebula in Sagittarius.Messier 22A bright globular cluster near the Galactic bulge with a planetary nebula.Small Sagittarius Star CloudA dense star cloud visible through a window in the Milky Way.Messier 26An open cluster in Scutum with a mysterious low-density core.Dumbbell NebulaFirst discovered planetary nebula, visible in binoculars.Messier 28Globular cluster in Sagittarius, first to host a millisecond pulsar.Messier 30A core-collapsed globular cluster in Capricornus.Andromeda GalaxyNearest major galaxy to the Milky Way, visible to the naked eye.Messier 32Prototype compact elliptical satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy.Triangulum GalaxyA spiral galaxy and third-largest member of the Local Group.Messier 34An open cluster in Perseus with about 400 stars.Messier 35An open cluster in Gemini, nearly moon-sized and 2,970 light-years away.Messier 36An open cluster in Auriga, similar to the Pleiades.
Browse Messier Objects in the interactive codex →