.....the man, the myth, the legend ! 😃 Mr. Messier did more for astronomy than all others ( perhaps other than the optical scientist) This Frenchman will go down in history for listing a catalog
of "trash". You see, back in the mid 1700's , all of the 'cool kids' were searching for comets. This was the craze because the comet would be named after the one that discovered it. Think of a modern equivalent of a video going viral ! Chuck sat on his balcony in the city of Paris and would spot a fuzzy blob in his eyepiece, hurriedly return the next night, only to find that the 'blob' had not moved! "@&^$&" he would cry. You see, if the object had not moved in relation to the stars, it was NOT a comet! Messier comprised a list of the objects as to never mistake them for a comet ever again, and thus not getting his drawers in a bunch over (to him)..... nothing ! Keep in mind that while Chuck's telescopes may have been a fairly good sized for the time, he and his astro buds would have killed for a 2" Walmart "Christmas' special of today !
