1. Charles Messier By: Armand Spencer And MichaelDzurko

2. background • Born June 26, 1730 in Badonviller, France • Died April 12, 1817 in Paris, France • Was the tenth out of twelve children • Born into a wealthy family • Dad died when he was 11 and from then on he was homeschooled

3. Background cont. • Seeing the great six tailed comet in 1744 drove him towards becoming an astronomer • 1751 Messier worked under the astronomer of the French Navy Joseph Nicolas Delisle

4. Achievements • 1764 Became part of the Royal Society • 1769 Elected as a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences • 1770 Was elected to the French Academy of Sciences

5. Contributions to Astronomy • 1759 Messier became the chief astronomer in the Marine Observatory • Discovering 19 comets • 13 of the comets he discovered by himself • Discovered the Crab nebula • King Louis the XV nicknamed Messier the “Comet Ferret”

6. Contributions cont. • Created the Messier Catalogue • It has over 100 documented comets, star clusters, and nebulas • The Messier Catalogue is still being used today

7. Sources • http://www.astrobio.net/amee/spring_2007/retrospections_03.htm • http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/377190/Charles-Messier • http://sydonieepifani.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/charles-messiers-contribution-to-astronomy/