Main Hemisphere

Charles Messier and his colleague Pierre Mechain, using sophistacted telescopes for their time, started documenting objects in the sky that were too fuzzy or unusual to be stars and did not behave like planets. Their work became popular in the 1700's and soon many astronomers were looking for these objects. They became known as the Messier Objects. A total of 110 are recorded.

If you look closely at this image you will see labels for some of the Messiers we have progammed to display on the dome. Click on the next images from the row above to see samples of some of them.

Alternate Hemisphere

We rotate the sky on the dome to display the other Messier objects that do not appear in the main hemisphere.

Our show begins with each object being lit up one at a time. The main image then drifts up to the zenith (top of the dome) and opens as full as possible depending on the resolution of the images we use. Depending on what we want to do with the image once it is made large, a series of different effect are applied including spiralling open, moving to the front, and fading away.

M1 Crab Nebula

M1 is located in the constellation Taurus and can be seen in the Winter sky at 83.625 Right Ascension and 22.02 Declination (both in degrees). M1 was discovered by John Bevis in 1731. It is a supernova remnant with brightness magnitude 8.4.

M8 Lagoon Nebula

M8 is located in the constellation Sagittarius and can be seen in the Summer sky at 270.95 Right Ascension and -24.38 Declination (both in degrees). M8 was discovered by Le Gentil in 1747. It is a diffuse nebula with brightness magnitude 6.0.

M16 Eagle Nebula (part 1 of 2)

M16 is located in the constellation Serpens and can be seen in the Summer sky at 274.65 Right Ascension and -13.97 Declination (both in degrees). M16 was discovered by Philippe Loys de Cheseaux in 1745 to 1746. It is an open cluster with brightness magnitude 6.4.

M16 Eagle Nebule (part 2 of 2)

After the central image is fully open, it moves to the front of the dome where the intereior images from Hubble are displayed. Many new stars are forming in the tops of the gaseous columns. The Pillars on the right is the classic Hubble image. The leftmost pillar in this image is 4 light years tall. The image on the left is one of Hubble's recent glories. The column in this image is 9 light years tall.

M27 Dumbell Nebula

M27 is located in the constellation Vulpecula and can be seen in the Summer sky at 299.9 Right Ascension and -22.72 Declination (both in degrees). M27 was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. It is a planetary nebula with brightness magnitude 7.3.

M42 Orion Nebula

M42 is located in the constellation Orion and can be seen in the Winter sky at 83.85 Right Ascension and -5.45 Declination (both in degrees). M42 was discovered by Nicholas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc in 1610. It is a diffuse nebula with brightness magnitude 4.0.

M51 Whirlpool Galaxy

M51 is located in the constellation Canes Venatici and can be seen in the Spring sky at 202.475 Right Ascension and 47.2 Declination (both in degrees). M51 was discovered by Charles Messier in 1773. It is a spiral galaxy with brightness magnitude 8.4.

M81 Bode's Galaxy

M81 is located in the constellation Ursa Major and can be seen in the Spring sky at 148.9 Right Ascension and 69.07 Declination (both in degrees). M81 was discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1774. It is a spiral galaxy with brightness magnitude 6.9.

M104 Sombrero Galaxy

M104 is located in the constellation Virgo and can be seen in the Spring sky at 190.0 Right Ascension and -11.62 Declination (both in degrees). M104 was discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1781. It is a spiral galaxy with brightness magnitude 8.0.

M106

M106 is located in the constellation Canes Venatici and can be seen in the Spring sky at 184.75 Right Ascension and 47.3 Declination (both in degrees). M106 was discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1782. It is a spiral galaxy with brightness magnitude 8.4.