Messier Month

March is one of the deep-sky observer’s favorites, providing the right balance of celestial showpieces, increasingly warmer weather with sufficiently long nights to view galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters spread over the late winter/early spring sky. One of the most famous catalogs of deep-sky objects is that compiled by French astronomer Charles Messier (and friends).

The Messier Catalogue is made up of about 110 deep-sky objects that were originally recorded in order to avoid mistaking for passing comets, but today amateur astronomers use this list as a guide to some of the night sky’s best deep-sky targets. Messier objects are indicated with the letter ‘M’ followed by their place in the catalog, for example the Orion Nebula is 42nd on the list, and appears on star charts as M42.

The entire Messier Catalogue is visible on a few nights during March, and they’re spread over the entire sky and provide a great seasonal challenge to test your observing skills over the year.

Check out this resource for details on each object:

https://www.constellation-guide.com/messier-objects/

Join Standley Lake Stargazing Wednesday March 10 for “Science & Cinema: For All Mankind” as we discuss this fictional version of the Moon landing and compare it to the real thing. Email register@standleylakestargazing.com to sign up!