English
Etymology
From w:Charles Messier|Charles Messier (1730-1817), who first published Nebulae and Star Clusters in 1774 as a listing of visible objects in the night sky that were not stars. Objects in Messier's catalog are numbered, and the letter M#Translingual|M (for Messier) is prepended to these numbers.
Noun
Messier number
- astronomy: A catalog number used to name and record approximately 100 galaxy|galaxies, nebula|nebulae, and other objects visible in the night sky that are not stars. Objects in Messier|Messier's catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters are numbered, and the letter M (for Messier) is prepended to these numbers, as in M31 (the Andromeda Galaxy) or M13 (the globular cluster in Hercules).
See also
M#Translingual|M
NGC
w:Messier object|Wikipedia article on the Messier objects
Category:English eponyms
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