Charles Messier

About Charles Messier

Who is it?: Astronomer
Birth Day: June 26, 1730
Birth Place: Badonviller, French
Died On: 12 April 1817(1817-04-12) (aged 86)\nParis, France
Birth Sign: Cancer
Residence: Paris
Known for: Messier catalog
Awards: Cross of the Legion of Honor
Fields: Astronomy

Charles Messier Net Worth

Charles Messier was born on June 26, 1730 in Badonviller, French, is Astronomer. Charles Messier was a noted French astronomer, who discovered the nebulae and star clusters. Beginning his career as a draftsman with a well-known Navy astronomer in Paris, he soon became a keen observer on his own. Eventually he started observing the sky from his master’s observatory, located at the top of the Hôtel de Cluny in the downtown Paris with a 100 mm refracting telescope. Thus he was able to observe the sky from the north celestial pole to a declination of about −35.7° and record all objects in that specific area. Although he had discovered many comets, he is best remembered for publishing a list of nebulae and star clusters. However, not all objects on the ‘Messier’s List’ had been discovered by him; some had been previously observed by others. Messier had compiled all of them in the list so that comet hunters could differentiate between the permanent and transient objects in the sky. The objects on the list, designated from M1 to M110, are still being used by astronomers as important references.
Charles Messier is a member of Scientists

💰 Net worth: Under Review

Some Charles Messier images

Famous Quotes:

As hard as it may seem to accept, the memoir is an ingratiation to Napoleon in order to receive attention and monetary support. It is full of servility and opportunism. Messier did not even refrain from utilizing astrology to reach his goal. Messier comes quickly to the point on the first page of the memoir, by stating that the beginning of the epoch of Napoleon the Great ... coincides with the discovery of one of the greatest comets ever observed.

Biography/Timeline

1748

Messier was born in Badonviller in the Lorraine region of France, being the tenth of twelve children of Françoise B. Grandblaise and Nicolas Messier, a Court usher. Six of his brothers and sisters died while young and in 1741, his Father died. Charles' interest in astronomy was stimulated by the appearance of the spectacular, great six-tailed comet in 1744 and by an annular solar eclipse visible from his hometown on 25 July 1748.

1753

In 1751 he entered the employ of Joseph Nicolas Delisle, the Astronomer of the French Navy, who instructed him to keep careful records of his observations. Messier's first documented observation was that of the Mercury transit of 6 May 1753.

1769

Near the end of his life, Messier self-published a booklet connecting the great comet of 1769 to the birth of Napoleon, who was in power at the time of publishing. According to Meyer:

1770

In 1764, he was made a fellow of the Royal Society, in 1769, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and on 30 June 1770, he was elected to the French Academy of Sciences.

1781

The final version of the catalogue was published in 1781, in the 1784 issue of Connaissance des Temps. The final list of Messier objects had grown to 103. On several occasions between 1921 and 1966, astronomers and historians discovered evidence of another seven objects that were observed either by Messier or by Méchain, shortly after the final version was published. These seven objects, M104 through M110, are accepted by astronomers as "official" Messier objects.