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.
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