Dec 6, 2024
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TODAY IN HISTORY: On the anniversary of the August 16, 1744 birth of French astronomer Pierre Méchain, here’s a quick selection of his celestial discoveries, at least 25 deep-sky objects ranging from spiral galaxies to globular clusters. (Click the images for details; go to sources here, here, and here for more info.
Messier 109 - Barred Spiral Galaxy in Ursa Major
M109 was discovered in 1781 by Pierre Méchain, and was then catalogued in 1783 by Charles Messier. It is known as a barred spiral due to the apparent bar structure in its centre. M109, like most spiral galaxies, is suspected to harbour a super-massive black hole in its centre. A supernova was observed in M109 about 60 years ago in 1956. This observation determined that M109 is the furthest object in the entire Messier Catalogue!
Top: Wide-Field - Bob Franke/Focal Pointe Observatory
Bottom: Close-up - Daniel Duggan/Faulkes Telescope North
Messier 104 - The Sombrero Galaxy in Virgo
Discovered in 1781 by Pierre Méchain, M103 has had a fascinating history and continues to delight both professional and amateur astronomers alike. The galaxy remained unconnected with the stellar catalogue of Charles Messier until 1921, when it was realised that this was an object mentioned in Messiers personal notes. M103 hosts a supermassive black hole in its centre, which produces a signature which is readily accessible to astronomers. As one of the most strikingly beautiful galaxies ever discovered, it continues to spark the human imagination.
Top: Wide-Field - James Maxwell/Nick Webb
Bottom: Close-Up - NASA/ESA/STScl/AURA
Messier 102 - Unknown Galaxy
This Messier object doesn't actually exist! It was "discovered" by Pierre Méchain who later noted that it was a duplicate observation of M101. It was then "confirmed" by Charles Messier, but there evidence that this galaxy might be NGC 5866, which is pictured above. Oh Charles!
Image: NASA/ESA/STScI/AURA