Charles Messier was a famed French astronomer, who lived from 1730 to 1817. Notable in particular for his "Messier Objects", he made several important contributions to the field of Astronomy.
Charles Messier was born to a large family of twelve children on June 26 in Badonviller, France. Although his family's lack of great wealth prevented him from gaining an extensive education, Messier nonetheless possessed a passion for astronomy that was sparked in 1744, when he witnessed an impressive comet that was visible in the sky. Eventually Messier gained a foothold in the field of astronomy when he was employed in the French Navy under Joseph Delisle, who was the Astronomer for the French Navy. Under Delisle, Messier gained many of his great skills as an astronomer, and became experienced in using astronomical tools and in making observations. A particular interest of Messier was the observation of comets; beginning with his observation of Halley's Comet in its 1758 return, he became a fervent hunter and recorder of comets, leading to his being nicknamed the "comet ferret" by Louis XV, who was the King of France.
However, the discovery of comets is hardly the extent of Messier's contributions. During his incessant hunt, he composed a list of several astronomical objects he found. Although initially put together as a list of things to avoid due to their heavy resemblance to the comets he was searching for, these "Messier Objects", or M objects, proved in many ways to be a more notable contribution than the comets themselves. This list began with the discovery of the supernova remnant known as the Crab Nebula, or M1. This list was originally published in 1774 with relatively few objects, but as he added to it throughout his life, Messier's list of objects came to a total of 103, with seven more being added by later astronomers. Notable M-Objects include the Beehive cluster (M44), the Swan Nebula (M17), the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and the Orion Nebula (M42). To record these objects, Messier used a fairly small telescope; as a result, most of the objects on his list can be seen either with the naked eye or with simple binoculars or telescopes. This has made Messier's list especially popular with amateur astronomers, who sometimes conduct "Messier Marathons" and try to identify all of the objects of Messier's list in one night.
As a result of Messier's tremendous work, he received a number of awards and prizes, including an election into the Paris Academy of Sciences is 1770 and the Royal Society in 1764. Additionally, he later had a comet named in his honor, and a crater on the moon bears his name (the Messier Crater). His life, however, endured a certain amount of tragedy. Failing health caused by a serious fall later in his life forced him to cease his observations, and then the ongoing French Revolution disrupted the entire scientific community. Many of Messier's peers and contemporaries were beheaded or otherwise killed, and Messier himself lost the valuable salary he had been provided by the navy. Although the end of the revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte gave him a new opportunity to work, Messier suffered a stroke in 1815 and died two years later, in 1817, at 86 years old.
Charles Messier had an undeniable impact on the field of astronomy, and one that persists to this day. His passion for comet hunting earned him fame and acclaim, and his catalogue of M Objects makes him a popular name in astronomy even today.
