# Messier catalog

Also called: Messier, M.

Charles Messier's list of 110 bright nebulae and clusters, made in the 1700s — the classic first targets.

Charles Messier was a French comet hunter who listed fuzzy objects that could be mistaken for comets, so he could ignore them. His list became the greatest hits of the northern sky: the Andromeda Galaxy is M 31, the Orion Nebula M 42, the Pleiades M 45. Seeing all 110 is a classic goal — some do it in one night in March, the Messier marathon.

**In AstroPilot:** The Messier Catalog is one of the observing programs under Achievements.

**Examples:** [M1](https://astropilot.space/object/M1.md), [M31](https://astropilot.space/object/M31.md), [M42](https://astropilot.space/object/M42.md), [M45](https://astropilot.space/object/M45.md)

**Related:** [Caldwell catalog](https://astropilot.space/glossary/caldwell-catalog.md), [NGC & IC](https://astropilot.space/glossary/ngc-ic.md), [Deep-sky object](https://astropilot.space/glossary/deep-sky-object.md)

From the AstroPilot astronomy glossary: https://astropilot.space/glossary/messier-catalog