Charles Messier

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Charles Messier
Cross of the Legion of Honor
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy

Charles Messier (French:

transient visually diffuse objects in the sky
.

Biography

Messier was born in

Court usher. Six of his brothers and sisters died while young, and his father died in 1741. Charles' interest in astronomy was stimulated by the appearance of the great six-tailed comet in 1744 and by an annular solar eclipse
visible from his hometown on 25 July 1748.

In 1751, Messier entered the employ of

Joseph Nicolas Delisle, the astronomer of the French Navy, who instructed him to keep careful records of his observations. Messier's first documented observation was that of the Mercury transit of 6 May 1753, followed by his observations journals at Cluny Hotel
and at the French Navy observatories.

In 1764, Messier was made a fellow of the

King Louis XV.[1]

Messier discovered 13 comets:[2]

  • C/1760 B1 (Messier)
  • C/1763 S1 (Messier)
  • C/1764 A1 (Messier)
  • C/1766 E1 (Messier)
  • C/1769 P1 (Messier)
  • D/1770 L1 (Lexell)
  • C/1771 G1 (Messier)
  • C/1773 T1 (Messier)
  • C/1780 U2 (Messier)
  • C/1788 W1 (Messier)
  • C/1793 S2 (Messier)
  • C/1798 G1 (Messier)
  • C/1785 A1 (Messier-Méchain)
Messier's grave in Père Lachaise

He also co-discovered Comet C/1801 N1 (Comet Pons-Messier-Méchain-Bouvard), a discovery shared with several other observers including Pons, Méchain, and Bouvard.[3]

Near the end of his life, Messier self-published a booklet connecting the great comet of 1769 to the birth of

Maik Meyer:[4]

As hard as it may seem to accept, the memoir is an ingratiation to Napoleon in order to receive attention and monetary support. It is full of servility and opportunism. Messier did not even refrain from utilizing astrology to reach his goal. Messier comes quickly to the point on the first page of the memoir, by stating that the beginning of the epoch of Napoleon the Great ... coincides with the discovery of one of the greatest comets ever observed.

Messier is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in the 20th arrondissement of Paris.

Messier catalogue

See also: Messier object
M 42
in his catalogue

Messier's occupation as a

galaxies, 4 planetary nebulae, 7 other types of nebulae, 26 open star clusters and 29 globular star clusters
.

Messier did his observing with a 100 mm (four-inch)

Musée national du Moyen Âge), in downtown Paris, France. The list he compiled only contains objects found in the area of the sky Messier could observe, from the north celestial pole to a declination of about −35.7° . They are not organized scientifically by object type, or by location. The first version of Messier's catalogue contained 45 objects and was published in 1774 in the journal of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris. In addition to his own discoveries, this version included objects previously observed by other astronomers, with only 17 of the 45 objects being discovered by Messier himself.[7]
By 1780 the catalog had increased to 80 objects.

The final version of the catalogue was published in 1781, in the 1784 issue of

M 104 through M 110
, are accepted by astronomers as "official" Messier objects.

The objects' Messier designations, from M 1 to M 110, are still used by professional and amateur astronomers today and their relative brightness makes them popular objects in the amateur astronomical community.

Legacy

Commemorative plaque in Messier's hometown of Badonviller

The

7359 Messier were named in his honour.[11]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Jakiel, Richard (February 2017). "The Obsessive Comet Hunter". Astronomy.
  2. ^ Meyer, Maik. "Catalog of comet discoveries". Archived from the original on 16 July 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
  3. ISBN 9783319017754
    .
  4. ^ Meyer, Maik (2007). Charles Messier, Napoleon, and Comet C/1769 P1 (PDF). p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 October 2014.
  5. ^ "The Messier Catalog". SEDS Messier Database. SEDS. 25 February 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  6. ISBN 0-521-37079-5
    .
  7. ^ Knight, J.D. "Meet the Astronomers: Charles Messier". Sea and Sky. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  8. Bibcode:1781cote.rept..227M
    .
  9. ^ "Original Messier Catalog of 1781". Messier.seds.org. Retrieved 10 November 2007.
  10. ^ "Charles Messier's personal copy of his 1781 "Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters"". Messier.seds.org.
  11. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3
    . Retrieved 9 September 2011.

References

External links

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