About the Messier Catalog Greenberg Companion    

 

Anyone who has attended a star party has heard the name Charles Messier, and many have viewed the night-sky jewels this 18th-century French astronomer cataloged in his catalog of comet-like objects. As I gradually moved from a 6-inch Newtonian telescope to a 12-inch scope, easily resolving stars in globular clusters, I was in awe of what Messier achieved with equipment so limited by today's standards. His note that the globular cluster M13 is a beautiful nebula containing no stars makes for a good story at star parties, but all joking aside, his work documented some of the favorite and most-viewed objects in amateur astronomy. As I delved deeper into astrophotography, that appreciation grew even stronger when I looked at Messier's own illustrations of the Orion Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy. Messier objects are wonderful astrophotography targets, so I decided it would be nice to one day view and image all 110 objects in his catalog. In theory this could be done within twelve months, but life, work, and those damn clouds prolonged the experience. After imaging each object, I would spend time reading about it online, and that is when I had the idea for a single interactive source of information on every Messier object. The Messier Catalog Greenberg Companion was born. Putting this interactive PowerPoint together is my way of paying homage to Messier, and to all the great astronomers who, long before high-quality optics, tracking mounts, auto-guiding, computers, and CCD chips, did remarkable work through great effort and skill that we still benefit from today. Because this project has spanned more than four years, the image quality is not always consistent. It often reflects different stages in my own astrophotography learning curve, and occasionally the effects of poor conditions. In time I may revisit some of these objects and try to produce better images. This file may be distributed freely for educational purposes. The Messier Catalog Greenberg Companion includes: An interactive table of all 110 objects. Clicking any image links to that object's dedicated page.110 object pages, each with its image and information I gathered online about the object. Full English translations of all of Messier's original entries. A brief biography of Charles Messier. If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to contact me through the contact page on my website: www.greenhawkobservatory.comDedicationI dedicate this work to my wife Ayelet and my children Ronnie and Adam, for their love, patience, and support; in loving memory of my parents, Yasha and Hilary Greenberg, who gave me life and guided me in how to live it; in memory of my grandfather Emmanuel Fagin, for making my childhood so special and for largely sowing the seed that has driven my interest in astronomy; and in memory of my father-in-law Moti Aharoni, with whom I spent many hours conversing about the wonders of the universe.