On 12 September 1758, early astronomer Charles Messier discovered a "new comet" which turned out to be the Crab Nebula. This observation became "M1," the first entry in the Messier Catalog of "new" non-comet celestial objects. Messier was most interested in finding comets, and he created his list to document the objects that frustrated him. The catalog eventually contained 110 nebulae, galaxies and star clusters, all quite easily visible from northern latitudes.
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