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Disc-# Rec-# Object Year Discoverer/NotesFollowing the last discovery of Méchain, William Herschel started his extended scan of the skies for nebulae, scoring his first discovery on September 7, 1782, less than half a year after the discovery of M107. Herschel, assisted by his sister Caroline who was also an avid observer, discovered 1000 objects within the next 2.5 years, a second thousand to December 1788, and a final 500 until 1802.
35 54 M1 1731 Bevis; Messier 1758 Aug 21 45 22 M2 1746 Sep 11 Maraldi; Messier 1760 Sep 11, Bode (#70) 1775 Sep 22 76 55 M3 1764 May 3 Messier 42 [27-53] M4 1745-46 de Cheseaux No. 19; Lacaille I.9 1752 Apr 13 32 18 M5 1702 May 5 Kirch, Messier 1764 May 23 [14-27][27-53] M6 <1654 Hodierna II.4, de Cheseaux No. 1, 1745-46, Lacaille III.12, 1752 Jun 16 8 6 M7 138 AD Ptolemy, Lac II.14 1752 Jun 15 47 26 M8 1749 Le Gentil (cluster NGC 6530 prior by Hodierna < 1654 and Flamsteed 1680) 77 56 M9 1764 May 28 Messier 78 57 M10 1764 May 29 Messier, Bode (# 33) 1774 Aug 14 30 15 M11 1681 Kirch; resolved by Derham 1733 79 58 M12 1764 May 30 Messier, Bode (# 32) 1774 Aug 14 33 19 M13 1714 Halley 80 59 M14 1764 Jun 1 Messier 44 21 M15 1746 Sep 7 Maraldi; Messier 1764 Jun 3, Bode (#71) 1774 Sep 23 38 60 M16 (cluster) 1745-46 de Cheseaux No. 4; nebula: Messier 1764 Jun 3 43 61 M17 1745-46 de Cheseaux No. 20; Messier 1764 Jun 3 81 62 M18 1764 Jun 3 Messier 82 63 M19 1764 Jun 5 Messier 83 64 M20 1764 Jun 5 Messier 84 65 M21 1764 Jun 5 Messier 28 12 M22 1665 Aug 26 Ihle (Hevelius may have seen it before) 85 66 M23 1764 Jun 20 Messier [86] [67] M24 1764 Jun 20 Messier (may be not counted, because starcloud) 39 68 M25 1745-46 de Cheseaux No. 5; Messier 1764 Jun 20 87 69 M26 1764 Jun 20 Messier 88 70 M27 1764 Jul 12 Messier 89 71 M28 1764 Jul 27 Messier 90 72 M29 1764 Jul 29 Messier, Bode (#69) 1774 Dec 5 91 73 M30 1764 Aug 3 Messier 10 10 M31 < 905 AD Al Sufi; S. Marius 1612 telescopic 46 25 M32 1749 Oct 29 Le Gentil; Messier 1757 and 1764 Aug 3 [14-27] 74 M33 <1654 Hodierna IV.4 (?), Messier 1764 Aug 25, Bode (#5) 1775 Aug 18 [14-27] 75 M34 <1654 Hodierna IV.12 (?), Messier 1764 Aug 25, Bode (#7) 1774 Sep 2 40 76 M35 1745-46 de Cheseaux No. 12; in Bevis' Atlas 1750; Messier 1764 Aug 30 [14-27] 23 M36 <1654 Hodierna II.7, Le Gentil 1749 [14-27] 77 M37 <1654 Hodierna II.7, Messier 1764 Sep 2, Bode (#13) 1774 Nov 2 [14-27] 24 M38 <1654 Hodierna II.7, Le Gentil 1749 92 78 M39 1764 Oct 24 Messier, Bode (#75) 1774 Oct 27; Burnham: Le Gentil 1750 ? Aristotle 325 BC ? [93] [79] M40 1764 Oct 24 [Messier] (Double star, thus may be not counted) [14-27] 17 M41 <1654 Hodierna IV.2, Flamsteed 1702 Feb 16; perhaps seen by Aristotle 325 BC. 13 11 M42 1610 Peiresc; Cysatus 1611; Hodierna <1654; Huygens 1656 34 20 M43 1731 de Mairan; Bode (with M42=# 10) late 1775 5 3 M44 Praesepe 300-250 BC Aratus/Theophrastus; Hipparchos 130 BC. Recognized as cluster by Galileo 1609. 1 1 M45 Pleiades pre-hist (mentioned by Homer c. 750 B.C., Hesiod c. 720-700 BC) 94 80 M46 1771 Feb 19 Messier [14-27] [81] M47 <1654 Hodierna IV.1, Messier 1771 Feb 19 (but missed) W. Herschel H VIII.38 1785 Feb 4 95 [82] M48 1771 Feb 19 Messier (but missed); Bode <1782; Caroline Herschel 1783 96 83 M49 1771 Feb 19 Messier 98 85 M50 1772 Apr 5 Messier, possibly seen by G.D. Cassini in 1711, Bode (#16) 1774 Dec 2 100 87 M51 1773 Oct 13 Messier (NGC 5194 only; 5195 seen by Méchain 1781), Bode (#25) 1774 Jan 5 101 88 M52 1774 Sep 7 Messier 104 91 M53 1775 Feb 3 Bode (#26), Messier 1777 Feb 26 106 93 M54 1778 Jul 24 Messier [49-75][27-53] M55 1752 Jun 16 Lacaille I.14, Messier 1778 Jul 24 109 97 M56 1779 Jan 19 Messier 108 96 M57 1779 Jan Darquier, Messier 1779 Jan 31 113 101 M58 1779 Apr 15 Messier 111 99 M59 1779 Apr 11 Koehler, Messier 1779 Apr 15 112 100 M60 1779 Apr 11 Koehler, Oriani 1779 Apr 12, Messier 1779 Apr 15 114 102 M61 1779 May 5 Oriani, Messier 1779 May 11 (saw it May 5!) 97 84 M62 1771 Jun 7 Messier (measured 1779 Jun 4) 115 103 M63 1779 Jun 14 Méchain 110 98 M64 1779 Mar 23 Pigott, Bode (#77) 1779 Apr 4, Messier 1780 Mar 1 117 105 M65 1780 Mar 1 Messier 118 106 M66 1780 Mar 1 Messier 107 95 M67 <1779 Koehler (#19), Messier 1780 Apr 6 119 107 M68 1780 Apr 9 Messier 122 110 M69 1780 Aug 31 Messier; probably not Lac I.11 (1751-52) 123 111 M70 1780 Aug 31 Messier 41 95 M71 1745-46 de Cheseaux No. 13; Koehler 1772-8; Méchain 1780 Jun 28 121 109 M72 1780 Aug 30 Méchain, Messier 1780 Oct 4 [126] [114] M73 1780 Oct 4 Messier (may not be counted, 4 stars) 125 113 M74 1780 Sep end Méchain, Messier 1780 Oct 18 120 108 M75 1780 Aug 27 Méchain, Messier 1780 Oct 5 124 112 M76 1780 Sep 5 Méchain, Messier 1780 Oct 21 128 116 M77 1780 Oct 29 Méchain, Messier 1780 Dec 17 116 104 M78 1780 "begin" Méchain 127 115 M79 1780 Oct 26 Méchain, Messier 1780 Dec 17 129 117 M80 1781 Jan 4 Messier, Méchain 1781 Jan 27 102 89 M81 1774 Dec 31 Bode (#17), 1772-78 Koehler (# 8A), Méchain 1779 Aug 103 90 M82 1774 Dec 31 Bode (#18), 1772-78 Koehler (# 8B), Méchain 1779 Aug [49-75][27-53] M83 1752 Feb 23 Lacaille I.6, Messier 1781 Mar 18 137 125 M84 1781 Mar 18 Messier 132 120 M85 1781 Mar 4 Méchain, Messier 1781 Mar 18 138 126 M86 1781 Mar 18 Messier 139 127 M87 1781 Mar 18 Messier 140 128 M88 1781 Mar 18 Messier 141 129 M89 1781 Mar 18 Messier 142 130 M90 1781 Mar 18 Messier 143 [131] M91 1781 Mar 18 Messier, but missed, W Herschel H II.120 1784 Apr 8 105 92 M92 1777 Dec 27 Bode (#76), Messier 1781 Mar 18 144 132 M93 1781 Mar 20 Messier 148 136 M94 1781 Mar 22 Méchain, Messier 1781 Mar 24 145 133 M95 1781 Mar 20 Méchain, Messier 1781 Mar 24 146 134 M96 1781 Mar 20 Méchain, Messier 1781 Mar 24 130 118 M97 1781 Feb 16 Méchain, Messier 1781 Mar 24 134 122 M98 1781 Mar 15 Méchain, Messier 1781 Apr 13 135 123 M99 1781 Mar 15 Méchain, Messier 1781 Apr 13 136 124 M100 1781 Mar 15 Méchain, Messier 1781 Apr 13 150 138 M101 1781 Mar 27 Méchain (Messier 1781) 151? [139] M102 (NGC 5866) 1781 Mar-Apr Méchain? (disclaimed), Messier? (position), W Herschel H I.215 1788 May 5 missed and still dubious: may be duplication of M101, or NGC 5866. 152 140 M103 1781 Mar-Apr Méchain (Messier 1781 added position) 153 [141] M104 1781 May 11 Méchain (added 1921 Flammarion) W Herschel H I.43 1784 May 9 149 [137] M105 1781 Mar 24 Méchain (added 1947 H.S. Hogg) W Herschel H I.17 1784 Mar 11 154 [142] M106 1781 Jul Méchain (added 1947 H.S. Hogg) W Herschel H V.43 1788 Mar 9 155 [143] M107 1782 Apr Méchain (added 1947 H.S. Hogg) W Herschel H VI.40 1793 May 12 131 [119] M108 1781 Feb 19 Méchain, Messier 1781 Mar 24 (added 1953 O. Gingerich) W Herschel H V.46 1789 Apr 17 133 [121] M109 1781 Mar 12 Méchain, Messier 1781 Mar 24 (added 1953 O. Gingerich) W Herschel H IV.61 1789 Apr 12 99 [86] M110 1773 Aug 10 Messier (not measured; added 1966 Glyn Jones), Caroline Herschel H V.18 1783 Aug 2 [49-75][27-53] 47 Tuc 1751 Sep 14 Lacaille I.1 4 9 SMC; NGC 292 pre-hist (Southern Hemisphere; Vespucci, 1503-4 ?; Magellan, 1519) [14-27] NGC 752 <1654 Hodierna IV.4 (?), W. Herschel VII.32 1786 Sep 21 6 4 NGC 884 (Chi Per) 130 BC Hipparchus 7 5 NGC 869 (h Per) 130 BC Hipparchus [49-75][27-53] NGC 2070 1751 Dec 5 Lacaille I.2 NGC 2169 <1654 Hodierna IV.10 ??, W. Herschel H VIII.24 1784 Oct 15 NGC 2175 <1654 Hodierna IV.11 ??, Bruhns?, Auwers No. 21 (NGC) 31 16 NGC 2244 (12 Mon) 1690 Flamsteed [14-27] NGC 2362 <1654 Hodierna V.1, W. Herschel H VII.17 1785 Mar 6 [14-27] NGC 2451 <1654 Hodierna V.2 (?) [49-75][27-53] NGC 2477 1752 Mar 19 Lacaille I.3 [49-75][27-53] NGC 2516 1752 Jan 4 Lacaille II.3 [49-75][27-53] NGC 2546 1751-52 Lacaille II.4 [49-75][27-53] NGC 2547 1752 Feb 15 Lacaille III.2 [49-75][27-53] NGC 3228 1752 Feb 11 Lacaille II.7 [49-75][27-53] NGC 3293 1752 Jan 25 Lacaille II.8 [49-75][27-53] Eta Carinae Nebula 1752 Jan 25 Lacaille III.5, III.6 [49-75][27-53] NGC 3532 1752 Jan 25 Lacaille II.10 [49-75][27-53] NGC 3766 1752 Mar 5 Lacaille III.7 [49-75][27-53] Kappa Cru, NGC 4755 1752 Mar 5 Lacaille II.12 [49-75][27-53] NGC 4833 1752 Mar 17 Lacaille I.4 29 13 Omega Centauri 1677 Halley, Lac. I.5 147 135 NGC 5195 1781 Mar 20 Méchain (Messier mentions with M51) [49-75][27-53] NGC 5281 1752 Mar 3 Lacaille I.7 [49-75][27-53] NGC 5662 1752 May 17 Lacaille III.8 [49-75][27-53] NGC 6025 1752 Mar 5 Lacaille III.10 [49-75][27-53] NGC 6124 1751-52 Lacaille I.8 [14-27][27-53] NGC 6231 <1654 Hodierna I.7, Lac. II.13 1751-52 [49-75][27-53] NGC 6242 1752 Mar 19 Lacaille I.10 [49-75][27-53] NGC 6397 1752 Jul 18 Lacaille III.11 [14-27] 14 NGC 6530 (in M8) <1654 Hodierna II.6, Flamsteed 1680 (No. 2446) De Cheseaux No. 8, 1745-46; Lacaille III.13, 1752 Apr 6; Messier 1764 May 23 37 NGC 6633 1745-46 de Cheseaux No. 3; C. Herschel H VIII.72 1783 48 NGC 6712 1749 Jul 9 Le Gentil; W. Herschel H I.47 1784 Jun 16 11 [27-53] o Vel (IC 2391) 964 AD Al Sufi; Lac II.5 [49-75][27-53] IC 2488 1752 Jan 25 Lacaille III.4 [49-75][27-53] IC 2602 1752 Mar 3 Lacaille II.9 36 IC 4665 1745-46 de Cheseaux No. 2; <1782 Bode; C. Herschel 1783 Jul 31; Bailey 1908 0 0 Milky Way pre-hist (doesn't count here) [14-27] Alpha Persei Cl. <1654 Hodierna I.4, Eddington 1910 12 Brocchi's Cl Cr 399 964 AD Al Sufi; Hodierna < 1654 2 2 Hyades pre-hist (mentioned by Homer c. 750 B.C., Hesiod c. 720-700 BC; cataloged by Hodierna I.2, 1654) 3 8 LMC pre-hist (Southern Hemisphere; Al Sufi, 964 AD; Vespucci, 1503-4 ?; Magellan, 1519) 9 7 Coma st.cl Mel 111 138 AD Ptolemy, Melotte 1915. Cluster: Trumpler 1938. 0 0 UMa cluster pre-hist (doesn't count here; recognized as cluster by Proctor 1869) Collinder 140? 1751-52 Lacaille II.2; Collinder 1931 Collinder 228? 1752 Mar 5 Lacaille III.5; Collinder 1931 Trumpler 10? 1752 Feb 19 Lacaille II.6; Trumpler 1930 vdB-Ha 47? 1752 Feb 17 Lacaille III.3; IC 2395 ?; van den Bergh/Hagen 1975
This table is widely based on the documentation in Kenneth Glyn Jones' book Messier's Nebulae and Star Clusters.
Last Modification: January 16, 2005