Numbers, please! 110 celestial objects in the Messier catalog

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Anyone spotting a globular star cluster like M13 for the first time through an amateur telescope will recognize a fascinating white spot, which at first glance could also be a comet without a recognizable tail. This comes very close to the purpose of the Messier catalog.

The Messier catalog is a summary of various astronomical objects. It was first published in 1774 by the French astronomer Charles Messier with 45 objects. It now includes 110 celestial objects: 40 galaxies, 29 globular clusters, 28 open star clusters, six galactic nebulae, four planetary nebulae, two-star patterns and one-star cloud.

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In this section, we present amazing, impressive, informative and funny figures ("Zahlen") from the fields of IT, science, art, business, politics and, of course, mathematics every Tuesday. The wordplay "Zahlen, bitte!" for a section about numbers is based on the ambiguity of the German word "Zahlen." On one hand, "Zahlen" can be understood as a noun in the sense of digits and numerical values, which fits the theme of the section. On the other hand, the phrase "Zahlen, bitte!" is reminiscent of a waiter's request in a restaurant or bar when they are asked to bring the bill. Through this association, the section acquires a playful and slightly humorous undertone that catches the readers' attention and makes them curious about the presented numbers and facts.

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The Messier catalog is particularly popular with amateur astronomers, as it includes most of the worthwhile deep-sky objects in the Northern Hemisphere that can be easily observed with amateur equipment.

Still an important astronomical catalog today

Many of the objects listed still bear the Messier name today. The catalog was originally only a by-product of comet hunting: Messier created it to help avoid confusing the “fixed” celestial objects with comet sightings.

Charles Messier was born on June 26, 1730, in Badonviller, France, the son of an administrative official. Little Charles was the tenth of twelve children to be born. His childhood was not easy: six of his siblings died young and his father died when Charles was 11 years old.

The year 1744 was probably groundbreaking for Charles Messier's future: in spring, the comet Klinkenberg (or C/1743 X1) was visible, a bright, large comet with several stripes. The comet was so bright that it even appeared during the day. It must have been impressive for the fourteen-year-old Charles, just like a partial solar eclipse four years later, in which the moon covered 80 percent of the sun.

First service with an experienced astronomer

At the age of 21, Messier moved to Paris and entered the service of the French astronomer and cartographer Joseph-Nicolas Delisle. From him, Messier learned how to scientifically observe celestial objects and precisely document the sightings, including their position. In 1754, like his mentor, he joined the French navy. In addition to astronomical work, he also drew nautical charts and maps of the Great Wall of China.

The key moment for the Messier catalog was September 12, 1758, when Messier was searching for Halley's Comet, whose reappearance had been predicted by the British astronomer Edmund Halley, and he thought he had come across a comet in the constellation Taurus. It looked like a comet, but did not change its apparent position. Charles Messier later wrote in Connaissance des temps 1800/1801:
“What prompted me to tackle the catalog was the nebula I discovered above the southern horn of the Bull on September 12, 1758, while observing the comet of that year. This nebula bore such a resemblance to a comet in its form and brightness that I endeavored to find others, so that astronomers would not confound these same nebulae with the comets just beginning to shine. I continued observing with suitable refractors to discover comets, and that is the purpose I had in compiling the catalog.”

Halley's comet only rediscovered later

The idea for the Messier catalog was born. Messier found Halley's Comet on January 21, 1759, four weeks after Johann Georg Palitzsch. His mentor Delisle had miscalculated the orbital data.

In his comet hunt, he not only discovered other comets, but also other objects, which he named M2 and M3. In 1764, he summarized 18 objects from his observations and 22 objects from other catalogs. In 1771, he succeeded Nicholas Delisle as astronomer of the navy. The first publication of the catalog appeared in 1774 in the “Mémoires de l'Académie 1771” and included the objects M1 to M45. The second, expanded part appeared in 1783 in the Connaissance des temps and contained M1 to M70. In the same astronomical yearbook series, the last catalog published by Messier himself appeared the following year, with the objects M1 to M103.

Seven more objects were added to the Messier catalog after Messier's death between 1921 and 1966. These are all objects that are easy to see from France.

There are now countless other, much more precise celestial catalogs. But the Messier catalog remains popular with amateur astronomers in Europe to this day, precisely because it summarizes the particularly worthwhile objects that can be easily viewed with simple binoculars or a small telescope.

A challenge for amateur astronomers

There is now even the Messier Marathon, a competition to see as many deep-sky objects from the Messier catalog as possible in one night. The two nights of the last weekend in March, between March 29 and 30, 2025, are ideal for the Messier Marathon 2025.

Fate was not always kind to Charles Messier. In 1770, he married Marie-Françoise de Vermauchampt, three years his junior. Two years later, his wife gave birth to a son, but both died shortly after birth. In 1781, Messier fell in an ice cellar and was seriously injured in the fall. The Hanoverian-British astronomer Wilhelm Herschel visited Messier a short time later. He wrote in his memoirs:
“A few days ago, I saw Mr. Messier in his apartment. He complained that he had suffered greatly from his accident when he fell into an ice cellar. He is still very industrious in observing, and regretted that he had not been interested enough to have the windows repaired in a sort of tower where his instruments are, but he remains in good spirits. In conversation, he seemed a very sensible man. Merit is not always rewarded as it should be.”

In 1815 Messier suffered a stroke from which he was not to recover. He died in 1817 at the age of 86. It is curious that Messier did not become famous for the 13 comets he discovered during his lifetime, but for his list, which was to become nothing more than an aid to comet hunting. A lunar crater, an asteroid, and a strait in southern Chile are named after Messier. And many astronomers who want to observe exciting celestial objects in the Northern Hemisphere will be using his catalog as a guide this year.

(mawi)