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[cheering] [intense music]

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The madness of March has begun!
Who will rise through the ranks

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and come out victorious? I’m
referring of course to the

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exciting, nail-biting challenge
of amateur astronomy.

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Sky-watching enthusiasts across
the northern hemisphere are

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prepping their telescopes for
this year’s Messier marathon,

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where they try to find as many
of the 110 Messier objects as

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they can in just one night. To
celebrate, NASA’s Hubble Space

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Telescope is releasing 12 new
images of Messier objects.

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Charles Messier was a French
astronomer in the 1700s and

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early 1800s. He was interested
in discovering comets, but it

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took time to determine which
fuzzy features in the sky were

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new, moving objects and which
were permanent and stationary.

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So, Messier compiled a list of
the permanent features to make

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it easier to identify the new
comets. This list, now known as

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the Messier catalog, includes
star clusters, nebulas, and

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galaxies, and it’s popular with
amateur astronomers because

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they’re all relatively bright
and findable with a backyard

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telescope. There are a few weeks
from mid-March to early April

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when it’s possible for people in
the northern hemisphere to

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observe all 110 Messier objects
in one night. This is best done

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close to the time of a new moon,
which in 2018 is March 17th.

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Many astronomy clubs across the
globe organize Messier marathons

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around this time, and only
people with the most skill,

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endurance, will power, good
luck, and darkest skies manage

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to find all 110 objects before
the sun rises. The Hubble Space

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Telescope has plenty of skill
and the darkest sky possible,

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but it doesn’t have the agility
to point toward 110 objects in

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different parts of the sky
within 12 hours. Over the years

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though, Hubble has provided
fantastic zoomed-in images of

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most of the Messier catalog.
These 12 new images were

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recently processed from existing
Hubble data and compiled into

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Hubble’s gallery of Messier
objects to share the excitement

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of stargazing, and let amateur
astronomers compare their views

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to those of Hubble. The 12 new
images include six spiral

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galaxies, four elliptical
galaxies, and two globular

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clusters. M58 was one of the
first galaxies recognized to

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have a spiral shape, and is the
most distant Messier object. M90

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is one of the few galaxies to be
moving toward our own Milky Way

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galaxy rather than away. Though
Messier himself may have been

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disappointed that these objects
weren’t comets, each of them has

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a unique story to tell. Whether
you use a space observatory like

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Hubble, a small telescope on the
ground, binoculars, or just your

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own eyes, there are always
interesting things to look at in

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the night sky.

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www.nasa.gov/hubble
@NASAHubble