THE 100 MESSIER MISSED

An Amateur's List Comparable to the Original
By John A. Barra

Have you ever looked at a non-Messier object for the
first time and wondered why Messier did not include it
on his list? I did many times. I figured there must be as
many of these objects as bright or as remarkable as
those numbered by the great astronomer. The list I
compiled is the result of my attempt to prove that
theory.

Most historians agree that Charles Messier discovered
or confirmed only 100 objects. Others added to that
list to make 110. Therefore, I tried to find 100 to
match his 100. Where there was a dispute as to
whether a certain object was actually a Messier object,
I chose to resolve the disagreement in favor of
inclusion. I want to make it clear that I am not
attempting to create any official list. Rather, I am
merely having fun to use my amateur skills to test my
theory.

PARAMETERS FOR SEARCH

To test my theory as accurately as possible, I used the
characteristics of the original 100 as parameters for my
search. I included the same number of each type of
object. I also made sure that all the objects in each
category were as bright as the dimmest object Messier
included for that type (see Table 1). The only
exceptions were where there was only one object per
category: supernova remnant, double star, asterism and
star cloud.

I did not search for any object lower in the sky than
M7 (-34 39) in Scorpius, the Messier object with the
lowest declination. For this reason, the list that I
compiled differs from some of the more modern lists
such as the Caldwell Catalogue. That list includes
bright objects in the far southern hemisphere. Messier
could not have seen those objects at his viewing
latitude. Finally, all the objects I searched for had to be
observable in my eight-inch Coulter Odyssey. I was
able to view all of the original 100 with that scope at
the Peoria Astronomical Society's dark-sky site 12
miles west of Peoria, Illinois.

MY LIST OF THE SECOND 100

My theory proved to be correct. I was able to find
another 100 objects as bright and remarkable as
Messier's 100 using the same parameters. My list is
shown in Table 2. Wherever possible I used The Deep
Sky Field Guide to Uranometria 2000.0 by Cragin,
Lucyk and Rappaport for statistical information.
Magnitudes vary greatly from source to source.
Therefore I used visual magnitudes rounded off to the
nearest one-half.

The first 10 objects I chose were the M101 to M110
included in most Messier lists. These objects were not
discovered nor probably confirmed by Messier.
However, they are remarkable enough to be included
in anybody's list. The remainder, M111 to M200, are
listed in order of right ascension.

OPEN CLUSTERS

My list contains 26 open clusters brighter than M26 in
Scutum, the dimmest Messier with a magnitude of 8.
Many were as spectacular as those in the original list. I
must admit that it was difficult to narrow the list. Some
people may disagree with my choices on open clusters.
There are many others that fit within these parameters.

The Double Cluster (M118, NGC869; M119,
NGC884) in Perseus is the clear highlight of the open
clusters. M46 and M47 in Puppis are almost as close
together but not as impressive. I find that the trio of
M36, M37 and M38 in Auriga, though further apart, is
the most comparable group to the
Double Cluster from the original 100.

IC4665 (M163) in Ophiucus reminds of M39 in
Cygnus in that both are bright and large, but sparse.
On the other end of the spectrum, NGC1502 (M122)
in Camelopardalis is a very compact cluster, similar to
M29 in Cygnus. Each cannot be resolved with
binoculars. However, you can follow a three degree
chain of stars from NGC1502 with either your
telescope or binoculars. This chain of stars is called
Kemple's Cascade.

GLOBULAR CLUSTERS AND GALAXIES

Messier did account for most of the bright globular
clusters. All 28 on my list are brighter than M72 in
Aquarius, the dimmest of the Messier globulars.
However, 22 on the original list were brighter than my
brightest of such clusters at magnitude 8. None
compared to M13, the Hercules Cluster or any of the
other bright Messier globular clusters.

In both lists globular clusters were predominate in the
Ophiucus-Sagittarius region. There are 12 of these
clusters from the original list in these two
constellations, while 20 from my list can be found
there. In fact, this region could be considered the
Realm of Globular Clusters, similar to the Realm of
Galaxies in Virgo in the Messier 100.

Of the 32 galaxies that I found with a magnitude of 10
or lower, most compare well with the original list.
None, however, were comparable to M31, the Great
Andromeda Galaxy. But NGC 253 (M114) in Sculptor
does stand out even though it is so low in our sky. This
spiral is regarded as a beautiful object from places with
a lower latitude. M104, the Sombrero Galaxy in Virgo,
and NGC4565 (M145), the Needle Galaxy in Coma
Berenices, are two outstanding edge-on galaxies. There
are none comparable to them in the original 100.

NEBULAE

When I picked 10 nebulae, I was forced to put both
planetary and bright nebulae in the same category. It
seems that Messier choose almost all of the bright
nebulae observable in amateur telescopes. Six of his
ten nebulae are bright nebulae. I found only one such
nebula bright enough to see with my telescope. It is
NGC2261 (M128), Hubble's Variable Nebula in
Monoceros. This nebula changes size and brightness
over time.
However, Messier did leave out most of the great
planetaries, choosing only four. I added nine, eight
which have common names and are regarded as classic
deep-sky objects. Included among them are NGC2392
(M132), the Eskimo Nebula in Gemini, NGC6543
(M165) the Cat's Eye Negula in Draco, and NGC7662
(M199), the Blue Snowball Nebula in Andromeda. I
also included my favorite, NGC6826 (M184), the
Blinking Planetary in Cygnus. Your eyesight is fooled
causing you to alternatingly see the nebula and its
central star.

THE OTHER OBJECTS

The rest of each list consists of single objects in four
different categories. I matched supernova remnant M1,
the Crab Nebula in Taurus, with M192 (NGC6960,
74, 79, 92, and 95), the Veil Nebula in Cygnus-- the
only other such object visible in my telescope. I did
have to borrow my friend's nebula filter to see it in its
real beauty.

Since Messier had a star cloud in his list, M24 known
as the

Sagittarius Star Cloud, I had to choose one for my list.
The Scutum Star Cloud seemed like a natural choice.
It is given the number M177 and has no other
numbered designation.

I literally had thousands of double stars to choose from
to correspond with Messier's M40. I picked another
virtually unknown F. G. W. Struve 1315 (M134).
Both pairs are in Ursa Major, are rather dim, and are
easily split. Each star in the two has nearly the same
brightness as its companion star.

I also had many asterisms to choose from to match
M73, the nondescript, four-star asterism in Aquarius. I
finally choose CRR399 (M182), Brocchi's Cluster in
Vulpecula, better known as the Coathanger. I say
finally not because the Coathanger was a hard choice
for the next 100. It is one of the most spectacular
objects on my list. However, since most books on the
subject called it an open cluster, I originally did so too
and chose another asterism. The Hipparcos satellite
made the decision easy when it recently determined
that the Coathanger was indeed an asterism afterall.

OTHER COMPARISONS

There are many other comparisons on the two lists,
both in terms of names and appearances. For example,
Messier had M57, the Ring Nebula in Lyra, while my
list includes the similar, but much larger M197
(NGC7293), the Helix Nebula in Aquarius. The
original list has the M97, the Owl Nebula in Ursa
Major, while I included M116 (NGC457), the Owl
Cluster in Cassiopeia.

The Wild Duck Cluster (M11) in Scutum is similar in
name with M130 (NGC2301) the Great Bird of the
Galaxy in Monoceros. This cluster, which
has also been described as an airplane, does not look
anything like the fan-shaped M11. On the other hand,
the open cluster M200 (NGC7789) in Cassiopeia is a
very faint version of the Beehive Cluster (M44) in
Cancer. As you continue to stare at M200 in
binoculars, you can see many stars appear as a swarm.
The Coathanger (M182) resembles the Pleiades (M45)
in Taurus in that they both can be seen with the naked
eye, although their magnitude difference is apparent.

Each list includes an open cluster that has a more
famous bright nebula associated with it. M16 is an
open cluster in Scutum more known for the Eagle
Nebula (IC4703) included within it. M127
(NGC2244) is an open cluster in Monoceros more
famous by the Rosette Nebula (NGC2237-9,46) that
surrounds it. Both open clusters are easy to see. The
nebulae are great photographic objects; however, they
are difficult to see with amateur telescopes.

Messier's list includes two planetaries named after
dumbbells, the Dumbbell (M27) in Vulpecula and the
Little Dumbbell (M76) in Perseus,
while mine has two planetaries named after planets, the
Saturn Nebula in Aquarius (M193, NGC7009) and the
Ghost of Jupiter in Hydra (M138, NGC 3242).
Messier's star cloud M24 has a faint open cluster
imbedded within it (NGC6603), while my Scutum Star
Cloud M177 also has a faint open cluster within it
(NGC6608). Even their NGC numbers are nearly the
same.

Finally, I should note that two galaxies in my list team
up with two pairs of galaxies from the original 100 to
form galactic triangles. M65 and M66 in Leo are
joined by M141 (NGC3628). M110, never
documented by Messier, of course, teams up with
M31 and M32 in Andromeda. Additionally, M105 is
joined on my list with nearby M139 (NGC3384) to
form the point of another triangle in Leo with M95 and
M96.

ANOTHER MARATHON?

The list which I have compiled has proven my theory
to be correct, at
least to my satisfaction. Meanwhile, it provided a great
deal of fun it viewing all these objects--which was
probably the real goal of this task. As I mentioned
earlier, I do not attempt to make this list into any
official list.

But I certainly do not object if anyone wants to use it
for his pure, viewing pleasure.

If anyone might think about trying to make a marathon
out of this list of the second 100, the best time would
be in mid-March, the normal Messier marathon time.
However, I feel compelled to add one last comparison.
You will not be able to complete this list in one night
either. From latitude forty degrees north, only 96 of
the 100 will be viewable in one night. M113 in Cetus,
M114 and M115 in Sculptor, and M197 in Aquarius
will blocked out by the Sun.
to complete this list in one night
either. From latitude forty degrees north, only 96 of
the 100 will be viewable in one night. M113 in Cetus,
M114 and M115 in Sculptor, and M197 in Aquarius
will blocked out by the Sun.