All articles starting with M
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Messier 62
Messier 62 (M62, NGC 6266) is a globular star cluster in Ophiuchus about 22,200 light-years from Earth, discovered by Charles Messier in 1771 and noted for its irregular shape.
Messier 63
Messier 63, also known as the Sunflower Galaxy or NGC 5055, is a flocculent spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici about 27 million light-years away, discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1779.
Messier 65
Messier 65, also cataloged as NGC 3623, is a spiral galaxy about 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo, discovered by Charles Messier in 1780.
Messier 66
Messier 66 (NGC 3627) is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Leo, about 35 million light-years from Earth, and the largest member of the Leo Triplet.
Messier 68
Messier 68 (M68, NGC 4590) is a globular cluster in the constellation Hydra, discovered by Charles Messier in 1780 and lying about 33,000 light-years from Earth.
Messier 69
Messier 69, also known as NGC 6637, is a globular star cluster in Sagittarius found by Lacaille in 1751, notable for metal-rich stars and, in 2025, detected millisecond pulsars.
Messier 70
Messier 70, also known as M70 or NGC 6681, is a globular cluster in Sagittarius, roughly 30,000 light-years away, discovered by Charles Messier in 1780.
Messier 71
Messier 71 (NGC 6838) is a sparse, relatively metal-rich globular star cluster in the northern constellation Sagitta, about 13,000 light-years from Earth and 27 light-years across.
Messier 72
Messier 72, also cataloged as NGC 6981, is a globular star cluster in Aquarius discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780, about 50,000 light-years from Earth.
Messier 74
Messier 74, also cataloged as NGC 628 and nicknamed the Phantom Galaxy, is a grand-design spiral galaxy in Pisces, viewed nearly face-on and about 32 million light-years away.
Messier 75
Messier 75 (M75, NGC 6864) is a globular cluster in Sagittarius, the most centrally concentrated in the Messier catalog, discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780.
Messier 76
Messier 76, the Little Dumbbell Nebula, is a planetary nebula in the constellation Perseus, about 3,400 light-years away, one of only four planetary nebulae in Messier's catalog.
Messier 77
Messier 77, also known as NGC 1068, is a barred spiral galaxy in Cetus about 45 million light-years away, hosting one of the nearest active galactic nuclei.
Messier 78
Messier 78, also cataloged as NGC 2068, is a bright reflection nebula in Orion about 1,600 light-years away, discovered by Pierre Méchain in early 1780.
Messier 79
Messier 79, also known as NGC 1904, is a globular cluster of about 150,000 old stars in Lepus, discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780, lying 41,000 light-years away.
Messier 8
Messier 8 (M8, NGC 6523), commonly called the Lagoon Nebula, is a giant emission nebula and star-forming region in Sagittarius, faintly visible to the unaided eye and about 4,100 light-years away.
Messier 80
Messier 80 (M80, NGC 6093) is a dense globular cluster of several hundred thousand stars in Scorpius, about 28,000 light-years away, discovered by Charles Messier in 1781.
Messier 81
Messier 81, also called Bode's Galaxy, is a grand design spiral galaxy in Ursa Major about 11.6 million light-years away, discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1774.
Messier 82
Messier 82 (M82), commonly called the Cigar Galaxy, is a nearby starburst galaxy in Ursa Major, forming stars about ten times faster than the Milky Way.
Messier 83
Messier 83, also called the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, is a starburst barred spiral galaxy in Hydra about 15 million light-years away, forming stars faster than the Milky Way.
Messier 84
Messier 84 (NGC 4374) is a giant elliptical galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, discovered by Charles Messier in 1781 and known for its central supermassive black hole.
Messier 85
Messier 85 (M85, NGC 4382) is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, about 60 million light-years away and a member of the Virgo cluster.
Messier 86
Messier 86 (M86, NGC 4406) is a giant lenticular galaxy in Virgo, about 52 million light-years away and one of the brightest members of the Virgo Cluster.
Messier 87
Messier 87, also called Virgo A, is a giant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo about 54 million light-years away, with a supermassive black hole first imaged in 2019.
Messier 89
Messier 89 (M89, NGC 4552) is an elliptical galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, about 50 million light-years away and notable for its almost perfectly circular appearance.
Messier 92
Messier 92 (M92, NGC 6341) is a globular cluster of roughly 330,000 ancient stars in Hercules, about 27,000 light-years away and among the Milky Way's oldest and brightest.
Messier 94
Messier 94, also called the Cat's Eye Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy about 16 million light-years away in Canes Venatici, known for its bright starburst ring.
Messier 95
Messier 95 (M95, NGC 3351) is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Leo about 33 million light-years away, discovered in 1781 by Pierre Méchain.
Messier 96
Messier 96 (M96, NGC 3368) is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 35 million light-years away in Leo, discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781 and roughly the size of the Milky Way.
Messier Catalogue
The Messier Catalogue is a list of 110 bright deep-sky objects, designated M1 through M110, compiled by French comet hunter Charles Messier to avoid mistaking them for comets.