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Charles Messier was born in France on June 26, 1730. With his father passing away when he was 11 and being the tenth of twelve children he had very little opportunity for further his education. His interested started in astronomy as a boy after he saw the brilliant six-tailed comet of 1744. In 1751, Messier was hired as a draftsman by Joseph-Nicholas de l’Isle, an astronomer of the French Navy. This led him to devote his life to the search and study of comets.
M51 (Messier51): Image courtesy of Meade Instruments
The Messier objects which are a set of astronomical objects catalogued by Messier was first published in 1774. The first edition contained 45 objects including what is known as the Crab Nebula. By 1780, the number of celestial objects had increased to 80 in his catalogue. In 1781, the final version of the catalogue was published.
Messier's last discovery was in 1798. He continued to search the skies until 1815 when he suffered a stroke which left him partially paralyzed. Charles Messier passed away on April 12, 1817 at his home in Paris at the age of 87.
Today the Messier catalogue consists of 101 celestial objects including M110, which were added in 1967. These additional objects were discovered by Messier or his assistant friend Pierre Mechain after the final version was published in 1781. The Messier objects are best viewed today by amateur astronomers using a larger telescope.
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