Named in memory of Charles Messier (1730–1817), French astronomer and first “comet hunter”. He found more than a dozen comets and independently recovered Halley’s Comet at its 1759 return. Nowadays, Messier is best known for his catalogue of 103 nebulae, star clusters and galaxies — a compilation he made in order to reduce confusion to comet hunters. (M 28672) _ _.