411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
Messier number
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
English
Etymology
From Charles Messier (1730-1817), the French astronomer who first published his Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters in 1774.
Noun
en astronomy A en catalogue number used to identify any one of more than one hundred en galaxy galaxies, en nebula nebulae, and other en deep-sky objects visible in the night sky; the designation formed by the surname en Messier number or letter mul M Messier being prepended to the number, as in Messier 31 or M31 (the Andromeda Galaxy).
See also
en NGC
Wikipedia article on the Messier objects
en eponyms