Index of Messier objects with
image icons or in text mode
Go, find the hottest stuff here !
Index of Messier objects with
image icons or in text mode
Go, find the hottest stuff here !
Fortunately for us, the Messier Catalog became well known for a much higher purpose, as a collection of the most beautiful objects in the sky including nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies. It was one of the first major milestones in the history of the discovery of Deep Sky objects, as it was the first more comprehensive and more reliable list: Only four objects were initially missing because of data reduction errrors, which could be figured out later though. Today's versions of the catalog usually include also later additions of objects observed by Messier and his collegial friend, Pierre Mechain, but not included in his original list. The study of these objects by astronomers has, and continues to, lead to important, incredible discoveries such as the life cycles of stars, the reality of galaxies as seperate '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 generate interest in astronomy, 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.
In addition to the images, we have also included some data on these objects such as celestial position (right ascension, declination), visual magnitude, apparent (angular) diameter in arc minutes, and approximate distance in thousands of light-years (please note that the decimal point in the distance does not represent true accuracy). Also, we have constellation images which show Messier and NGC (New General Catalog) objects down to 12th magnitude.
Our Messier database has been updated throughout to HTML 2.0, and is steadily evolving into HTML 3. In order to enjoy the full comfort of this HTML level, we recommend to use the most recent release of Netscape (2.01 or 3.X), IBM's OS/2 WebExplorer (1.03, 1.1X, or 1.2), or other HTML 3 compliant browser to view these pages. However, at least for now, we try to restrict ourselves to the strict and pure HTML standards and don't plan to add proprietary features of certain browsers, e.g. Netscape's extras. Moreover, we try to keep the pages appealing (or at least readable) under less advanced browsers such as Mosaic (or even Lynx); please complain 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. With the contributions of others we hope to soon have 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 request for information list which contains those data which most urgently need to be confirmed, improved, or contributed.
These pages were created Guy McArthur who developed their logic and design, and created the first working version. They were upgraded and extended, and are currently maintained by Hartmut Frommert <spider@seds.org>, who is responsible for the current contents (especially any errors). If you have anything to contribute, or find any errors, please e-mail me. Any constructive feedback is highly appreciated!
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 similar collections suitable e.g. for the amateur.
Learn How these pages were created.
The materials in these pages (especially the images) may be freely used for
private purpose only; please read
our usage regulations page
if you intend any other kind of (especially for-profit) usage.