Quote:
Originally Posted by edelweiss
I see.So basically messier objects are objects other than the comets? Sounds interesting!
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Well, sort of.
None of the objects in Messier's catalogue are comets, but there are many, many more objects up there that aren't in Messier's catalogue, and they aren't comets either.
There are many catalogues of celestial objects. Some run to hundreds of thousands of items. Several of them overlap to some degree, so one object can end up with alternative catalogue numbers.
Messier was the first (as far as anyone knows) to produce a catalogue (in 1771), but he only recorded 103 items, later expanded to 110 items by others. They happen to be some of the largest, brightest and most easily found objects, so the Messier catalogue is a good place to start in your exploration of the heavens.
Here's the
Messier Catalogue for you to look through.
As for the Milky Way, nothing beats a really dark location away from the city. Allow your eyes to adapt to complete darkness for at least half-an-hour to really enjoy the view.