Messier, Charles

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Messier, Charles (1730-1817), French astronomer, born in Badonviller, noted for the valuable catalog of nebulous-appearing celestial objects that he compiled from 1758 to 1784. Messier called these objects nebulae, and the catalog's purpose was to help other astronomers to distinguish such objects from comets. Messier was also noted for his discoveries of comets. Today his catalog is known to consist of galaxies and star clusters as well as true nebulas. The catalog numbers are still used in designating the objects that he listed.

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