A full run down of the Messier catalogue of deep sky objects.

I have imaged some of these Messier objects from my back garden on the west coast of Scotland. The full Messier list of deep sky objects listed shown below.

Messier Catalogue: Charles Messier

Number of objects: 110

Above is shown an image of Messier 51a – The whirlpool galaxy which is essentially two galaxies colliding, that I took from my back garden in 2023. This is a total of 12 hours or so made up of lots of 180 second exposures, stacked and combined to give one final image. If you look very carefully you will spot a few other galaxies surrounding this deep sky object.

The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51a or NGC 5194, is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus. It lies in the constellation Canes Venatici, and was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy. It is 7.22 megaparsecs away and 23.58 kiloparsecs in diameter. Source: Wikipedia

The Messier Catalogue is a list of 110 astronomical objects compiled by the French astronomer Charles Messier in the 18th century. Here’s a summary of each object, including its type and brief description:

M1 – M10

M1 (Crab Nebula) – Supernova remnant in Taurus, known for its pulsar at the centre. See my image here

M2 – Globular cluster in Aquarius, one of the largest and oldest in the Milky Way.

M3 – Globular cluster in Canes Venatici, rich in variable stars.

M4 – Globular cluster in Scorpius, close to Earth and bright.

M5 – Globular cluster in Serpens, very bright with a dense core.

M6 (Butterfly Cluster) – Open cluster in Scorpius, named for its butterfly shape.

M7 (Ptolemy Cluster) – Open cluster in Scorpius, visible to the naked eye.

M8 (Lagoon Nebula) – Emission nebula in Sagittarius, contains a large star-forming region.

M9 – Globular cluster in Ophiuchus, relatively close and dense.

M10 – Globular cluster in Ophiuchus, slightly elongated and bright.

M11 – M20

M11 (Wild Duck Cluster) – Dense open cluster in Scutum, named for its V shape.

M12 – Globular cluster in Ophiuchus, has fewer dense stars than other globulars.

M13 (Hercules Cluster) – Bright globular cluster in Hercules, easily visible in binoculars.

M14 – Globular cluster in Ophiuchus, with a large, dense core.

M15 – Globular cluster in Pegasus, contains a planetary nebula.

M16 (Eagle Nebula) – Emission nebula in Serpens, famous for its "Pillars of Creation."

M17 (Omega Nebula) – Emission nebula in Sagittarius, rich in star formation.

M18 – Open cluster in Sagittarius, small and sparse.

M19 – Globular cluster in Ophiuchus, elliptical in shape.

M20 (Trifid Nebula) – Emission and reflection nebula in Sagittarius, with a distinct three-lobed structure.

M21 – M30

M21 – Open cluster in Sagittarius, contains young stars.

M22 – Globular cluster in Sagittarius, among the brightest and closest to Earth.

M23 – Open cluster in Sagittarius, rich and large.

M24 (Sagittarius Star Cloud) – Dense star cloud in Sagittarius.

M25 – Open cluster in Sagittarius, contains a yellow giant star.

M26 – Open cluster in Scutum, has a noticeable dark patch.

M27 (Dumbbell Nebula) – Planetary nebula in Vulpecula, shaped like an hourglass.

M28 – Globular cluster in Sagittarius, compact and bright.

M29 – Open cluster in Cygnus, small and sparse.

M30 – Globular cluster in Capricornus, asymmetrical with a dense core.

M31 – M40

M31 (Andromeda Galaxy) – Spiral galaxy in Andromeda, closest large galaxy to the Milky Way.

M32 – Elliptical galaxy in Andromeda, satellite of M31.

M33 (Triangulum Galaxy) – Spiral galaxy in Triangulum, part of the Local Group.

M34 – Open cluster in Perseus, loosely packed.

M35 – Open cluster in Gemini, large and rich in stars.

M36 – Open cluster in Auriga, sparse but bright.

M37 – Open cluster in Auriga, rich and the brightest in its constellation.

M38 – Open cluster in Auriga, with a cross-shaped pattern.

M39 – Open cluster in Cygnus, scattered and sparse.

M40 – Double star in Ursa Major, part of a failed search for a nebula.

M41 – M50

M41 – Open cluster in Canis Major, visible to the naked eye.

M42 (Orion Nebula) – Emission nebula in Orion, known for active star formation. See my image here

M43 – Emission nebula in Orion, part of the Orion Nebula complex.

M44 (Beehive Cluster) – Open cluster in Cancer, bright and easily visible.

M45 (Pleiades) – Open cluster in Taurus, among the nearest and most visible clusters.

M46 – Open cluster in Puppis, includes a planetary nebula.

M47 – Open cluster in Puppis, bright but loosely packed.

M48 – Open cluster in Hydra, relatively sparse.

M49 – Elliptical galaxy in Virgo, one of the brightest in the Virgo Cluster.

M50 – Open cluster in Monoceros, heart-shaped with bright stars.

M51 – M60

M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy) – Spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici, famous for its spiral structure.

M52 – Open cluster in Cassiopeia, dense and rich.

M53 – Globular cluster in Coma Berenices, dense and distant.

M54 – Globular cluster in Sagittarius, actually part of a satellite galaxy.

M55 – Globular cluster in Sagittarius, sparse and loosely packed.

M56 – Globular cluster in Lyra, small and dim.

M57 (Ring Nebula) – Planetary nebula in Lyra, known for its ring shape.

M58 – Barred spiral galaxy in Virgo, bright and part of the Virgo Cluster.

M59 – Elliptical galaxy in Virgo, compact and dense.

M60* – Elliptical galaxy in Virgo, one of the largest in the Virgo Cluster.

M61 – M70

M61 – Barred spiral galaxy in Virgo, bright with active star formation.

M62 – Globular cluster in Ophiuchus, elliptical and compact.

M63 (Sunflower Galaxy) – Spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici, with bright spiral arms. See my image here

M64 (Black Eye Galaxy) – Spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices, known for a dark dust lane.

M65 – Spiral galaxy in Leo, elongated with a prominent core.

M66 – Spiral galaxy in Leo, part of the Leo Triplet.

M67 – Open cluster in Cancer, very old and compact.

M68 – Globular cluster in Hydra, bright and dense.

M69 – Globular cluster in Sagittarius, close to the Galactic centre.

M70 – Globular cluster in Sagittarius, very dense with a concentrated core.

M71 – M80

M71 – Loose globular cluster in Sagitta, almost like an open cluster.

M72 – Globular cluster in Aquarius, faint and distant.

M73 – Asterism in Aquarius, four stars forming a Y-shape.

M74 – Spiral galaxy in Pisces, almost face-on with delicate spiral arms.

M75 – Globular cluster in Sagittarius, dense and distant.

M76 (Little Dumbbell Nebula)*– Planetary nebula in Perseus, resembles M27.

M77 – Spiral galaxy in Cetus, one of the largest in the catalog.

M78 – Reflection nebula in Orion, bright with young stars.

M79 – Globular cluster in Lepus, compact and bright.

M80 – Globular cluster in Scorpius, one of the densest known.

M81 – M90

M81 (Bode’s Galaxy) – Spiral galaxy in Ursa Major, very bright and large.

M82 (Cigar Galaxy) – Starburst galaxy in Ursa Major, bright with high star formation.

M83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy)** – Barred spiral galaxy in Hydra, large and bright.

M84 – Elliptical galaxy in Virgo, located in the centre of the Virgo Cluster.

M85 – Elliptical galaxy in Coma Berenices, slightly flattened.

M86 – Elliptical galaxy in Virgo, in the Virgo Cluster.

M87 – Giant elliptical galaxy in Virgo, known for its supermassive black hole.

M88 – Spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices, bright with well-defined arms.

M89 – Elliptical galaxy in Virgo, nearly spherical in shape.

M90 – Spiral galaxy in Virgo, part of the Virgo Cluster.

M91 – M100

M91 – Barred spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices, faint and difficult to observe

M92 – Globular cluster in Hercules, very dense and bright.

M93 – Open cluster in Puppis, rich and bright with young stars.

M94 – Spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici, with a bright core and faint arms.

M95 – Barred spiral galaxy in Leo, with a ring structure.

M96 – Spiral galaxy in Leo, bright and large.

M97 (Owl Nebula) – Planetary nebula in Ursa Major, resembles owl eyes.

M98 – Spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices, faint and elongated.

M99 – Spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices, with well-defined spiral arms.

M100 – Spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices, with a nearly face-on orientation.

M101 – M110

M101 (Pinwheel Galaxy) – Spiral galaxy in Ursa Major, large and very detailed.

M102 – Lenticular galaxy in Draco (often disputed as a duplicate or missing).

M103 – Open cluster in Cassiopeia, sparse but bright.

M104 (Sombrero Galaxy) – Spiral galaxy in Virgo, known for its bright nucleus.

M105 – Elliptical galaxy in Leo, close to M96.

M106 – Spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici, active nucleus and spiral arms.

M107 – Globular cluster in Ophiuchus, faint and loosely packed.

M108 – Spiral galaxy in Ursa Major, seen edge-on.

M109 – Barred spiral galaxy in Ursa Major, bright with faint arms.

M110 – Elliptical galaxy in Andromeda, companion to M31.

That was some read! Watch out for more images of these deep sky objects, galaxies and nebula and clusters that I took from my back garden on the west coast of Scotland and if you want to check out the new messier object and planning tool from Picastro, check out the link here