Astronomy   View all facts   Glossary   Help

physical object > natural object > celestial body > Messier object

Messier object comparison table

Subject	has reference	has Messier number	is part of	has age	has diameter	is an instance of	has velocity	has expansion velocity	has illuminating star	has discoverery date	has location	has orbit	has classification criterion	has distance	has ejection velocity	has acronym	has NED data	has spectra	has classification criteria	orbit	has discoverer	has number of Cepheid	has catalog	has illuminating star(s)	has composition	has wavelength	has number of galaxie	has apparent magnitude	has mass	has image	produce	has synonym	has definition	has discovery date	has number of star
Andromeda galaxy			celestial sphere			Messier object					or center of gravity		Subdivided according to the openness of the spiral arms as Sa spiral, Sb spiral or Sc spiral.	determined from Cepheid period-luminosity relation									Messier catalog						1010 to 1012 Msun			M 31	The largest member of the local group. It is a giant spiral galaxy that lies 2.4 million light-years away.		106 to 1012
Crab Nebula		1	gas	947 years		Messier object					or center of gravity			2 kpc	10000 km s-1	SNR							Messier catalog		enhanced with heavy elements relative to the interstellar medium	radio					synchrotron radiation	2U 0531+22	A chaotic, expanding mass of gas in Taurus, the remnant of a Type I supernova whose light reached Earth in 1054. It is an intense radio source, and its visible light is strongly polarized. It is also a source of X-rays and gamma-rays. Its total mass is about 1 Msun, but the total energy radiated by the Crab is 1037-1038 ergs s-1. It is periodically occulted by the Moon, and every June its radio spectrum is occulted by the solar corona.
Dumbbell Nebula		27	gas			Messier object		typically 10 km/s			or center of gravity			220 pc									planetary nebula catalog		enhanced with heavy elements relative to the interstellar medium							NGC 6853	A planetary nebula of large apparent diameter and low surface brightness.
Lagoon Nebula		8	gas			Messier object					or center of gravity			5000 light years									gaseous nebula catalog		ionized hydrogen							NGC 6523	An emission nebula in Sagittarius 2 kpc distant.
M 10	NED, SIMBAD	10	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Charles Messier		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6254		1764	105 to 106
M 100		100	celestial sphere			Messier object					or center of gravity		Subdivided according to the openness of the spiral arms as Sa spiral, Sb spiral or Sc spiral.	from Earth							Pierre Mechain		Messier catalog						1010 to 1012 Msun			NGC 4321		1781	106 to 1012
M 107	NED, SIMBAD	107	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Pierre Mechain		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6171		1782	105 to 106
M 12	NED, SIMBAD	12	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Charles Messier		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6218		1764	105 to 106
M 13	NED, SIMBAD	13	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Edmond Halley		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6205		1714.	105 to 106
M 14	NED, SIMBAD	14	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Charles Messier		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6402		1764	105 to 106
M 15	NED, SIMBAD	15	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Jean-Dominique Maraldi		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 7078		1746	105 to 106
M 19	NED, SIMBAD	19	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Charles Messier		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6273		1764	105 to 106
M 2	NED, SIMBAD	2	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Jean-Dominique Maraldi		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 7089		11 September 1746	105 to 106
M 22	NED, SIMBAD	22	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Abraham Ihle		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6656		1665	105 to 106
M 28	NED, SIMBAD	28	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Charles Messier		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6626		1764	105 to 106
M 3	NED, SIMBAD	3	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Charles Messier		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 5272		3 May 1764	105 to 106
M 30	NED, SIMBAD	30	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Charles Messier		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 7099		1764	105 to 106
M 32		32	celestial sphere			Messier object					or center of gravity			from Earth						Andromeda galaxy			Messier catalog										An elliptical galaxy that orbits the Andromeda galaxy.		106 to 1012
M 4	NED, SIMBAD	4	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Philippe Loys de Cheseaux		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6121		1746	105 to 106
M 5	NED, SIMBAD	5	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Gottfried Kirch		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 5904		1702	105 to 106
M 53	NED, SIMBAD	53	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Johan Elert Bode		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 5024		1775	105 to 106
M 54	NED, SIMBAD	54	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Charles Messier		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6715		1778	105 to 106
M 55	NED, SIMBAD	55	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Abbe Nicholas Louis de la Caille		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6809		1751	105 to 106
M 56	NED, SIMBAD	56	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Charles Messier		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6779		1779	105 to 106
M 62	NED, SIMBAD	62	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Charles Messier		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6266		1771	105 to 106
M 68	NED, SIMBAD	68	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Pierre Mechain		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 4590		1780	105 to 106
M 69	NED, SIMBAD	69	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Abbe Nicholas Louis de la Caille		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6637		1751	105 to 106
M 70	NED, SIMBAD	70	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Charles Messier		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6681		1780	105 to 106
M 71	NED, SIMBAD	71	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Philippe Loys de Cheseaux		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6838		1745	105 to 106
M 72	NED, SIMBAD	72	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Pierre Mechain		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6981		1780	105 to 106
M 75	NED, SIMBAD	75	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	6.0 arc min	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		57.7 kly				low abundances of heavy elements			Pierre Mechain		Messier catalog					8.5 (V)	104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6864		1780	105 to 106
M 79	NED, SIMBAD	79	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Pierre Mechain		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 1904		1780	105 to 106
M 80	NED, SIMBAD	80	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		28000 light years				low abundances of heavy elements			Charles Messier		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6093		1781	105 to 106
M 81		81	celestial sphere			Messier object					or center of gravity		Subdivided according to the openness of the spiral arms as Sa spiral, Sb spiral or Sc spiral.	from Earth							Johan Elert Bode		Messier catalog						1010 to 1012 Msun			NGC 3031	A giant spiral galaxy 11 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It rules the M81 group, the second nearest galaxy group to the Local Group.	1774	106 to 1012
M 87		87	celestial sphere			Messier object					or center of gravity			from Earth					E0 (spherical) to E7 (greatest eccentricity)				Messier catalog			X-ray			1013 Msun (most massive galaxies known)			Virgo X-1	A strong radio source. Optically, it is an elliptical galaxy with a luminous blue jet about 1500 pc long. It is also one of the most powerful extragalactic sources of radiation at infrared wavelengths.		106 to 1012
M 9	NED, SIMBAD	9	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Charles Messier		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6333		1764	105 to 106
M 92	NED, SIMBAD	92	halo	oldest stellar formation in the Galaxy	about 100 light-years	Messier object	very high				most are in the halo some are members of the thick disk	elongated, around the galactic center		from Earth				low abundances of heavy elements			Johan Elert Bode		Messier catalog						104 to 106 Msun			NGC 6341		1777	105 to 106
Omega Nebula		17	gas			Messier object				1745	or center of gravity			from Earth							Philippe Loys de Cheseaux		gaseous nebula catalog		ionized hydrogen							NGC 6618	A bright H II region. It is a double radio source.
Orion Nebula		42	gas	20000 years		Messier object					or center of gravity			500 pc									gaseous nebula catalog	trapezium	ionized hydrogen							M 42	The Orion Nebula, a star-forming region in the constellation Orion.
Owl Nebula		97	gas			Messier object		typically 10 km/s			or center of gravity			600 pc									planetary nebula catalog		enhanced with heavy elements relative to the interstellar medium							NGC 3587	A planetary nebula.
Pinwheel galaxy		33	celestial sphere			Messier object					or center of gravity		Subdivided according to the openness of the spiral arms as Sa spiral, Sb spiral or Sc spiral.	800 kpc from Milky Way galaxy							Hodierna		Messier catalog						1010 to 1012 Msun			Triangulum galaxy	A Sc II-III spiral galaxy, a satellite of the Andromeda galaxy, about 700 kpc distant. Mv = - 18.9.	1654	106 to 1012
Pleiades		45	disk	very young		Messier object					or center of gravity			125 pc									open cluster catalog		B star, late star							NGC 1432			several hundred
Praesepe		44	disk	varies widely		naked eye object					or center of gravity			160 pc									open cluster catalog									NGC 2632
Ring Nebula		57	gas			Messier object		typically 10 km/s			or center of gravity			2000 light years									planetary nebula catalog		enhanced with heavy elements relative to the interstellar medium							M 57	A famous planetary nebula (M57, NGC 6720) in the constellation Lyra.
Sombrero galaxy		104	celestial sphere			Messier object					or center of gravity		Subdivided according to the openness of the spiral arms as Sa spiral, Sb spiral or Sc spiral.	from Earth									Messier catalog						1010 to 1012 Msun			NGC 4594	A spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo. It was the first galaxy whose rotation was detected.		106 to 1012
Trifid Nebula		20	gas			Messier object					or center of gravity			9000 light years									gaseous nebula catalog		ionized hydrogen							NGC 6514	An emission nebula in Sagittarius.
Whirlpool galaxy		51	celestial sphere			Messier object					or center of gravity		Subdivided according to the openness of the spiral arms as Sa spiral, Sb spiral or Sc spiral.	from Earth							Charles Messier		Messier catalog						1010 to 1012 Msun			NGC 5194		1773	106 to 1012

Next celestial body: natural satellite    Up: celestial body    Previous celestial body: gamma ray source