A Quick History of Charles Messier:



          Charles Messier was born on June 26, 1730 in Lorraine France. From his youth, Messier had been interested in astronomy. At the age of 14, Messier observed a great comet and at the age of 18, he viewed an annular solar eclipse. These two events combined with his interest in astronomy led him to pursue a career in astronomy. Messier also developed an intense interest in comet hunting. While he had other achievements to his credit, this was his chief occupation during his long observing career. In this, he was so successful that he probably observed half of the comets known in his time.


          He discovered about twenty. It was to keep track of the star clusters and nebulae which might have otherwise confused him by their comet-like appearance, that he began to catalog and describe them. In commenting on his catalog in later years, he frankly stated that he had compiled it in order to aid other comet hunters. There is a slight touch of irony in the fact that Messier's chief claim to immortality grew out of his efforts to rid himself of a nuisance to what, he felt, was his important life's work. As might be expected, Messier's telescopes were all modest instruments, none of them exceeding the capacity of telescopes amateurs can expect to own today.
          "The Beehive cluster is a cluster within a cluster. Over many years the cluster has formed into one and the stars have completely moved around. By look at X-ray emissions you can tell what cluster are the "main cluster" and the "sub-cluster". The "sub-cluster" is the older of the two; the X-rays emissions are weaker which means that they are older stars.

          The people in Utah have different symbols from the earth including flowers, minerals, trees, birds and beehives. They see the beehive cluster in the sky as a symbol for looking outward toward things that are hard to see. This began 100 years ago when Utah first became a state and now going into their second century of statehood they still look at it as a symbol of a new and grand cosmic level to guide them. They also see the cluster as "a symbol of industrious desire to explore things that are difficult and remote."

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