Charles Messier's 46 Comets

Charles Messier probably got first fascinated from a comet in 1744, still in Badonviller, his Lorrainian hometown, as a 13-aged, when he observed the great 6-tailed comet which was subject to extensive studies by De Chéseaux.

As a young astronomer in Paris in 1758, he early became involved in the search for Halley's comet which was predicted for 1758-59. He specialized on hunting for comets, and successfully discovered about 20 of them, 13 original discoveries and 7 independent co-discoveries (but it is sometimes discussed where to put the limit; Jean-Paul Philbert tends to count comet 1801 Pons and that of 1762 Klinkenberg as another original discovery, as it occurred almost simultaneously with that of the original discoverers). Of the 52 comets of 1758-1808, when Messier actively searched for them, he observed and described a total of 46. A translation of his personal notes is available.

Below follows a table of the 46 comets Messier observed professionally. The entries in this table are linked to additional notes below, and those in turn to Messier's descriptions in his notes: 

No  Comet                Desig. new  old    Messier  Messier observed         d t  Disco. Date Discoverers

                                                 
(0) Anonymus             C/1743 X1   1744    -       1744                     ?    1744        Klinkenberg, De Chéseaux
 1  De la Nux            C/1758 K1   1758    1758    14-Aug-1758 02-Nov-1958 31 c  26-May-1758 De la Nux
 2  P/Halley             1P/1758 Y1  1759I   1759    21-Jan-1759 01-May-1759 47 c  25-Dec-1758 Palitzsch
 3  Great comet          C/1760 A1   1759III 1760 1  08-Jan-1760 30-Jan-1760  6 c  07-Jan-1760 -many- (Chevalier)
 4  Messier              C/1760 B1   1759II  1760 2  26-Jan-1760 18-Mar-1760 22 !  26-Jan-1760 Messier
 5  Klinkenberg          C/1762 K1   1762    1762    28-May-1762 05-Jul-1762 20    17-May-1762 Klinkenberg
 6  Messier              C/1763 S1   1763    1763    28-Sep-1763 24-Nov-1763 29 !  28-Sep-1763 Messier
 7  Messier              C/1764 A1   1764    1764    03-Jan-1764 11-Feb-1764 16 !  03-Jan-1764 Messier
 8  Messier              C/1766 E1   1766I   1766 1  08-Mar-1766 15-Mar-1766  8 !  08-Mar-1766 Messier
 9  P/Helfenzrieder      D/1766 G1   1766II  1766 2  08-Apr-1766 12-Apr-1766  5 c  08-Apr-1766 Helfenzrieder 
10  Messier              C/1769 P1   1769    1769    08-Aug-1769 01-Dec-1769 42 !  08-Aug-1769 Messier
11  P/Lexell             D/1770 L1   1770I   1770    14-Jun-1770 03-Oct-1770 47 !  14-Jun-1770 Messier
12  Great comet          C/1771 A1   1770II  1771 1  10-Jan-1771 20-Jan-1771  4 c  10-Jan-1771 -many- (incl. Messier)
13  Messier              C/1771 G1   1771    1771 2  01-Apr-1771 15-Jun-1771 48 !  01-Apr-1771 Messier
14  P/Biela              3D/1772 E1  1772    1772    26-Mar-1772 03-Apr-1772  4    08-Mar-1772 Montaigne
15  Messier              C/1773 T1   1773    1773    12-Oct-1773 14-Apr-1774 71 !  12-Oct-1773 Messier
16  Montaigne            C/1774 P1   1774    1774    18-Aug-1774 25-Oct-1774 41    11-Aug-1774 Montaigne
17  Bode                 C/1779 A1   1779    1779    19-Jan-1779 19-May-1779 63 c  06-Jan-1779 Bode
18  Messier              C/1780 U2   1780I   1780 2  27-Oct-1780 28-Nov-1780 13 !  27-Oct-1780 Messier    
19  Méchain              C/1781 M1   1781I   1781 1  30-Jun-1781 16-Jul-1781 14    28-Jun-1781 Méchain
20  Méchain              C/1781 T1   1781II  1781 2  10-Oct-1781 05-Nov-1781 12    09-Oct-1781 Méchain
21  P/Pigott-LINEAR-Kow. 226P/1783W1 1783    1783    27-Nov-1783 21-Dec-1783 13    19-Nov-1783 Pigott 
22  Great comet          C/1783 X1   1784    1784    03-Feb-1784 25-May-1784 13    24-Jan-1784 -many- (Cassini)
23  Messier-Méchain      C/1785 A1   1785I   1785 1  07-Jan-1785 16-Jan-1785  6 !  07-Jan-1785 Messier
24  Méchain              C/1785 E1   1785II  1785 2  13-Mar-1785 16-Apr-1785 14    11-Mar-1785 Méchain
25  P/Encke              2P/1786 B1  1786I   1786 1  19-Jan-1786              1    17-Jan-1786 Méchain
26  Herschel             C/1786 P1   1786II  1786 2  01-Aug-1786 26 Oct 1786 43                C.Herschel
27  Méchain              C/1787 G1   1787    1787    11-Apr-1787 20-May-1787  6    10-Apr-1787 Méchain
28  Messier              C/1788 W1   1788I   1788 1  25-Nov-1788 29-Dec-1788 20 !  25-Nov-1788 Messier
29  P/Herschel-Rigollet  35P/1788 Y1 1788II  1788 2  03-Jan-1789 06-Jan-1789  2    21-Dec-1788 C.Herschel
30  Herschel             C/1790 A1   1790I   1790 1  19-Jan-1790              1    07-Jan-1790 C.Herschel
31  P/Tuttle             8P/1790 A2  1790II  1790 2  10-Jan-1790              7    09-Jan-1790 Méchain
32  Herschel             C/1790 H1   1790III 1790 3  01-May-1790 09-Jun-1790 45    17-Apr-1790 C.Herschel
33  Herschel             C/1791 X1   1792I   1791    26-Dec-1791 28-Jan-1792 12    15-Dec-1791 C.Herschel
34  Gregory              C/1793 A1   1792II  1793 1  01-Feb-1793 14-Feb-1793  6    10-Jan-1793 Gregory, Méchain
35  Perny                C/1793 S1   1793II  1793 3  27-Sep-1793 08-Dec-1793 25    24-Sep-1793 Perny  
36  Messier              C/1793 S2   1793I   1793 4  27-Sep-1793 07-Jan-1794    !  27-Sep-1793 Messier
37  Bouvard-Herschel-Lee C/1797 P1   1797    1797    16-Aug-1797 30-Aug-1797 13    14-Aug-1797 Bouvard
38  Messier              C/1798 G1   1798I   1798 1  12-Apr-1798 24-May-1798 27 !  12-Apr-1798 Messier
39  Bouvard              C/1798 X1   1798II  1798 2  07-Dec-1798 12-Dec-1798  4    06-Dec-1798 Bouvard
40  Méchain              C/1799 P1   1799I   1799 1  10-Aug-1799 25-Oct-1799 44    07-Aug-1799 Méchain
41  Méchain              C/1799 Y1   1799II  1799 2  28-Dec-1799 06-Jan-1800  5    26-Dec-1799 Méchain
42  Pons +               C/1801 N1   1801    1801    12-Jul-1801 21-Jul-1801  5 c  12-Jul-1801 Pons, Messier, Méchain, Bouvard
43  Pons                 C/1802 Q1   1802    1802    30-Aug-1802 05-Sep-1802  7    26-Aug-1802 Pons
44  Pons                 C/1804 E1   1804    1804    11-Mar-1804 17-Mar-1804  6    07-Mar-1804 Pons
45  Pons-Huth-Bouvard    2P/1805 U1  1805    1805 1  21-Oct-1805 21-Oct-1805 [1]   21-Oct-1805 Pons, Huth, Bouvard
46  Great Comet          C/1807 R1   1807    1807    19-Oct-1807 26-Jan-1808 [?}    9-Sep-1807 -- many in South, -- Giovanni, Pease, Pons
Key:
No
Messier's numbering for "his" comets (i.e., those he observed)
Comet
Comet Name/Discoverer[s]
Desig.
Comet Designation: New IAU desgination; Old style "Final" designation: year and Roman number for perihelion passage; and Messier's designation
Messier observed
Dates between Messier observed the comet
d
Number of days (nights) Messier saw the comet
t
Type of discovery (if any): "!": Original discovery, "c": Independent co-discovery, "?": Perhaps an independent co-discovery
Disco. Date
Discovery Date
Discoverers
Name(s) of (original) discoverer(s)
Additional Resources and Notes on these comets:

This list is linked to Messier's descriptions in his notes. Where appropriate, there are also links to Henk Bril's pages on Messier's comet maps, to G.M. Caglieris' [Italian language] pages discussing some of Messier's comet discoveries, and to Felice Stoppa's account on Messier's publications [also in Italian].

1. C/1758 K1 De la Nux (1758I De la Nux).
The comet of 1758. According to Alexandre Guy Pingré (1783), this was the 49th comet with a calculated orbit. Charles Messier's observations were published by Delisle in: Mem. Acad., 1759, pp. 154-188 [Bibcode: 1765MmARS1759..154D]. Included is the discovery announce of M1. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and included map. G.M. Caglieris' account of comet 1758 De la Nux and M1. Reference: Cometography, Vol. 1, pp. 420-422.
2. 1P/Halley (1P/1758 Y1, 1759I Palitzsch).
Halley discovered in 1705 that this was a periodic comet, the first to be recognized as such, and predicted its 1758-9 return. According to Pingré, it is the 7th comet with a calculated orbit. Charles Messier's observations were published by Delisle in: Mem. Acad., 1760, pp. 380-465 + Pl. II-IV [1766MmARS1760..380D]. Messier's first of two maps of the path of comet Halley 1759 includes the "nebulae" M2 and M30. Messier also published a memoir in Phil. Trans. LV, 294 (1765) [ADS: 1764RSPT...54..151M]. G.M. Caglieris' account of the return of comet Halley 1759. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and included maps. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 422-430.
Also see: Charles Messier and Comet Halley; Comet Halley in 1758 and 1759; Messier's maps of comet Halley 1759; Gary Kronk's Comet 1P/Halley page; More info and links on Comet 1P/Halley.
3. C/1760 A1 Great comet (1st 1760, 1759III). The 1st comet of 1760.
The 51st comet with a calculated orbit. Charles Messier's memoir is in Mem. Acad., 1772, pp. 333-342 + Pl. III [Bibcode: 1775MmARS1772..333M]. The map of the path of this comet also contains the Messier Objects M41, M42, and M50. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and included map. G.M. Caglieris' account of the two comets of 1760. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 430-432.
4. C/1760 B1 Messier (2nd 1760, 1759II Messier). The 2nd comet of 1760.
The 50th comet with a calculated orbit. Charles Messier's memoir is in Mem. Acad., 1772, pp. 421-435 + Pl. IV [Bibcode: 1775MmARS1772..421M]. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and included map. G.M. Caglieris' account of the two comets of 1760, who notes that Messier has missed the discovery of considerably bright galaxy NGC 2903 when observing this comet, which closely passed the object in the night of February 11-12, 1760. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 432-434.
5. C/1762 K1 Klinkenberg (1762 Klinkenberg).
The 52nd comet with a calculated orbit. Charles Messier's observations are published in: Sav. etr., Vol. 5, 1768, pp. 175-176, map on p. 104 [Bibcode: 1768SavEt...5...81M]. Messier's map of Comet 1762 Klinkenberg. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 435-436.
6. C/1763 S1 Messier (1763 Messier).
The 53rd comet with a calculated orbit. Messier's memoir is in: Mem. Acad., 1774, pp. 23-41 + Pl. II [Bibcode: 1778MmARS1774...23M]. The map includes M5. It is also in a Report to a session of the Academy on January 7, 1764. Messier's map of Comet 1763. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 436-437.
7. C/1764 Messier (C/1764 A1, 1764 Messier).
The 54th comet with a calculated orbit. Charles Messier's observations are published in Phil. Trans. LIV, 151 (1764) [ADS: 1764RSPT...54..151M], and in Mem. Acad., 1771, pp. 506-517 + Pl. IX [Bibcode: 1774MmARS1771..506M]. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 437-439.
8. C/1766 Messier (C/1766 E1, 1766I Messier). 1st comet of 1766.
The 55th with a calculated orbit. Messier's observations are published in: Phil. Trans. LVI, 57 (1766) [ADS: 1766RSPT...56...57M] and in Mem. Acad., 1773, pp. 157-167 + Pl. V [Bibcode: 1777MmARS1773..157M]. The map of the path of this comet, together with that of comets 1766 Helfenzrieder-Messier and 1783 Pigott, was once more published in Mem. Acad., 1783, Pl. III (near p. 132, see comet no. 21, 1783 Pigott). Messier's map of comet 1766 Messier (and 1766 Helfenzrieder, and 1783 Pigott). Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. G.M. Caglieris' account of the two comets of 1766, where he notes that Messier closely missed the discovery of M74 at that time which the comet passed within a degree in the night of March 10-11, 1766. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 439-440.
9. D/1766 Helfenzrieder (D/1766 G1, 1766 Helfenzrieder-Messier). 2nd comet of 1766.
The 56th with a calculated orbit. Messier's observations are published in: Phil. Trans. LVI, 57 (1766) [ADS: 1766RSPT...56...57M], in Sav. etr., Vol. 6 (1774) pp. 92-93 [Bibcode: 1774SavEt...6...92M], and in Mem. Acad., 1773, pp. 157-167 + Pl. V [Bibcode: 1777MmARS1773..157M]. The map of the path of this comet, together with that of comets 1766 Messier and 1783 Pigott, was published once more in Mem. Acad., 1783, Pl. III (near p. 132, see comet no. 21, 1783 Pigott). Gary Kronk's Comet D/1766 G1 Helfenzrieder page; Messier's map of comet 1766 Helfenzrieder (and 1766 Messier, and 1783 Pigott). G.M. Caglieris' account of the two comets of 1766. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 440-442.
10. C/1769 Messier (C/1769 P1, 1769 Messier).
The 57th with a calculated orbit. Messier's memoir appeared in: Mem. Acad., 1775, pp. 392-444 + Pl. VIII-X [Bibcode: 1778MmARS1775..392M]. Messier's maps of the path of this comet also contain the "nebulae" M10, M12, M14, M42, and M50. This comet is also subject to his dubious publication of 1808, Grande comète qui a paru à la naissance de Napoléon le Grand. Bessel obtained an orbital period of 2090 years for this comet. Messier's map of comet 1769 Messier. G.M. Caglieris' account of comet 1769, where he notes that while the newly discovered cluster M50 was reported on the map, Messier did not report his cluster M48, thus not giving us a further clue on his position error for that object in his catalog. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and maps. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 442-447.
11. D/1770 Lexell (D/1770 L1, 1770I Messier).
The comet of 1770, the 58th with a calculated orbit. Messier's memoir was published in: Mem. Acad., 1776, pp. 597-651 + Pl. XX-XXI [Bibcode: 1779MmARS1776..597M], with an addition on Lexell's work in Mem. Acad., 1777, pp. 345-359 [Bibcode: 1780MmARS1777..345M] (here p. 352ff). Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and maps.
This comet had become short-period of only 5.6 years by being captured by Jupiter in 1767. Its next return occurred in 1776 but in daylight so that it was not observed. In 1779, it was again perturbed by Jupiter and has not returned since, as it probably was ejected from the inner solar system.
Gary Kronk's Comet D/1770 L1 Lexell page. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 447-451.
12. C/1771 "Great Comet" (C/1771 A1, 1770II "Great Comet"). 1st comet of 1771.
The 59th with a calculated orbit. Messier's observations are published in: Phil. Trans. LXI, 104 (1771) [ADS: 1771RSPT...61..104M], and in Mem. Acad, 1771, pp. 423-429 + Pl. VII [Bibcode: 1774MmARS1771..423M]. This comet passed close by Mars, Messier noted the position of that planet. Also marked in the map are the positions of star cluster M35 and the "Nebula discovered in 1758," M1, as well as M44. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 451-453.
13. C/1771 Messier (1771 G1, 1771). 2nd comet of 1771.
The 60th comet with a calculated orbit. Messier's observations and memoir were published in: Mem. Acad., 1777, 154-184 + pl. I and II [Bibcode: 1780MmARS1777..154M]. Messier's first map includes M1, M35, M37 and the Pleiades, M45 as well as the Hyades. His second map includes a dubious "cone of light" observed June 32, 1771. Messier's maps of the second comet of 1771. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and maps. Orbit by Kreutz, AN 103 (1882), p. 336. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 453-455.
14. 3D/Biela (3D/1772 E1, 1772 Montaigne); (3D/1805 V1, 1806I Pons).
The 61st comet with a calculated orbit. Messier's observations and memoir were published in: Mem. Acad., 1777, 345-359 + pl. VI [Bibcode: 1780MmARS1777..345M] (together with a discovery announce of M50). On the map, M50 as well as M42 are indicated. Messier's maps of comet 1772. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 455-456.
This comet was found again on its return in 1806 (as comet 3D/1805 V1, 1806I Pons). It was found to have a 6.62-year period (the 3rd periodic comet) by Biela in 1826, split in two pieces in January 1846, one of them recovered last in 1852 (last observation Sep 29). Later meteor showers have been associeted with it. In 2001 it was noted (by S. Nakano) that Comet P/2001 J1 (NEAT) had a similar orbit, giving room for speculations that it might be associated with 3D/Biela in some way. ( IAUC 7635)
More on comet 3D/Biela; Gary Kronk's Comet 3D/Biela page.
15. C/1773 Messier (C/1773 T1, 1773).
The 62nd comet with a calculated orbit. Messier's observations and memoir published in: Mem. Acad., 1774, pp. 271-329 + Pl. III [Bibcode: 1778MmARS1774..271M]. This memoir also contains the discovery announce of M51; its position is indicated in the map. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 456-460.
16. C/1774 Montaigne (C/1774 P1, 1774).
The 63rd comet with a calculated orbit. Messier's observations published in Mem. Acad., 1775, pp. 445-476 + Pl. XI [Bibcode: 1778MmARS1775..445M]. This memoir also contains discovery announce of open cluster M52). On p. 455, Messier reports that he could not find Flamsteed's star 3 Cas, now dealt as a candidate for the Cas A supernova - if true, SN 1680. The map indicates the position of M52; the comet came very close to the cluster on September 7 (when Messier discovered it) and September 8. It also includes "the back of the Reindeer" (a now obsolete constellation) and the position of Tycho's supernova of 1752. Messier's map of comet 1774 Montaigne. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 461-463.
17. C/1779 Bode (C/1779 A1, 1779).
The 64th comet with a calculated orbit. Messier's observaitons and memoir published in: Mem. Acad., 1779, pp. 318-372 + Pl. XIV (chart) [Bibcode: 1782MmARS1779..318M]. (Chart of its track or apparent path online). This memoir contains the discovery announces of M56, M57, M58, M59, M60, and M61 which all occurred during the observation of this comet, by Messier and other astronomers (Darquier, Koehler, Oriani). In addition to these objects, the chart also contains the "older" Messier "nebulae" M3, M13, M27, M29, M49, and M53, as well as the later discoveries M63, M64, M71, M84, M85, M86, M87, M88, M89, M90, M91, M92, M94, M98, M99, and M100, so a total of as many as 28 Messier Objects. The map also contains a prediscovery observation of asteroid (2) Pallas, the first known record of an asteroid obeservation! Messier's map of comet 1779 Bode. G.M. Caglieris' account of the comet of 1779 and of the many object in Messier's map. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 463-466.
18. C/1780 Messier (C/1780 U2, 1780I). The second comet of 1780.
The 65th comet with a calculated orbit. Messier's observations and memoir published in: Mem. Acad., 1780, pp. 515-541. Chart on pl. X [Bibcode: 1784MmARS1780..515M]. On the map included with this memoir, also nebulae M65 and M66 can be found. Messier's map of comet 1780 Messier. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Report from the Connoissance des Temps for 1784: Comet observed in 1780. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 468-470.
19. C/1781 Méchain 1 (C/1781 M1, 1781I). First comet of 1781.
The 66th with a calculated orbit. Messier's Memoir: Mem. Acad., 1781, pp. 349-368 [Bibcode: 1784MmARS1781..349M] (together with No. 20). The map on p. 368 contains the pathes of both comets. The map shows nebulae M81 and M82 as well as M97 (all marked "Néb. 1781") in Ursa Major, as well as M65 and M66 (marked "Néb. 1780"), and M95 and M96 ("Néb. 1781") in Leo. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 470-471.
20. C/1781 Méchain 2 (C/1781 T1, 1781II). Second comet of 1781.
The 67th with a calculated orbit. Messier's memoir: Mem. Acad., 1781, pp. 349-368 (together with No. 19) [Bibcode: 1784MmARS1781..349M]. Messier observed this comet well until the evening before his accident on November 6, 1781. The map on p. 368 contains the pathes of both comets. The map shows nebulae M81 and M82 as well as M97 (all marked "Néb. 1781") in Ursa Major, as well as M65 and M66 (marked "Néb. 1780"), and M95 and M96 ("Néb. 1781") in Leo. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 471-474.
21. 226P/Pigott-LINEAR-Kowalski (226P/1783 W1, former D/1783 W1 Pigott, 1783).
The 68th comet with a calculated orbit. Messier's memoir: Mem. Acad., 1783, pp. 123-132 + Pl. III [Bibcode: 1786MmARS1783..123M]. The map of this comet also contains the path of comet the two comets of 1766 (Messier and Helfenzrieder), and the "nebula" M33. It misses to report also M74 which is in the same field. Messier's map of comet 1783 Pigott (and the two comets of 1766). Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 474-475. Comet P/1783 Pigott was longly missed (D/1783 W1) and only recovered by the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) in New Mexico on images taken on January 5, 2003. Gary Kronk's Comet 226P/Pigott-LINEAR-Kowalski page
22. C/1784 Great comet (C/1783 X1, 1784).
The 69th with a calculated orbit. Messier's Memoir: Mem. Acad., 1784, pp. 313-327 + Pl. VII [Bibcode: 1787MmARS1784..313M]. In appendix, this memoir also mentions the presumed second comet of 1784 which had only be seen by the Chevallier d'Angos, and is presumably spurious. Messier's map of the Great Comet of 1783. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 475-478.
23. C/1785 Messier-Méchain (C/1785 A1, 1785I). 1st comet of 1785.
The 71st comet with a calculated orbit. Messier's memoir: Mem. Acad., 1785, pp. 639-645 [Bibcode: 1788MmARS1785..639M]. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Also reported in Journal de Savants, 1785. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 479-480.
24. C/1785 Méchain (C/1785 E1, 1785II). 2nd comet of 1785.
The 72nd comet with a calculated orbit. Messier's memoir: Mem. Acad., 1785, pp. 646-655 [Bibcode: 1788MmARS1785..646M], chart om p. 654. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 480-481.
25. 2P/Encke (2P/1786 B1, 1786I Méchain). 1st comet of 1786.
No orbit could be calculated for this comet from this apparition due to lack of observations. Messier's memoir is in Mem. Acad., 1786, pp. 95-97 [Bibcode: 1788MmARS1786...95M]. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir is included in his page on the 2nd comet of 1786. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 481-482.
This comet was discovered again on November 7, 1795 (2P/1795 V1, 1795 Herschel). However, the 1795 apparition (Caroline Herschel's discovery) was not observed by Charles Messier, because of years of trouble in France. It was discovered a third time by Pons on October 5, 1805, and again on November 27, 1818 by Pons. During that apparition, J.F. Encke noted the identity of the comets of these four years, and predicted its return in 1822 (which then was observed as predicted). It is now the short-periodic comet with most observed apparitions.
More on comet 2P/Encke; Gary Kronk's Comet 2P/Encke page
26. C/1786 Herschel (C/1786 P1, 1786II). 2nd comet of 1786.
The 73rd comet with a calculated orbit. Messier's memoir: Mem. Acad., 1786, pp. 98-120 [Bibcode: 1788MmARS1786...98M]. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Numerous nebulae are included in the map, including M53, M64, and in the Coma Virgo region, M58, M59, M60, M84, M85, M86, M87, M88, M89, M90, M91 (wrong position), M98, M99, M100. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 482-484.
27. C/1787 Méchain (C/1787 G1, 1787).
The 74th comet woth a calculated orbit. Messier's memoir: Mem. Acad., 1787, pp. 70-75 + Pl. I [Bibcode: 1789MmARS1787...70M]. The map on Pl. I also shows the Pleiades (M45), parts of the Hyades, as well as planet Jupiter. Felice Stoppa's account of this memoir and map. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 485-486.
28. C/1788 Messier (C/1788 W1, 1788I). 1st comet of 1788.
The 75th comet with a calculated orbit. Messier's memoir: Mem. Acad., 1789, pp. 665-685 [Bibcode: 1793MmARS1789..665M]. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 486-487.
29. 35P/Herschel-Rigollet (35P/1788 Y1, 1788II Herschel). 2nd comet of 1788.
The 76th comet with a calcualted orbit. Messier's memoir: Mem. Acad., 1789, pp. 681-684 [Bibcode: 1793MmARS1789..681M]. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 487-489. Gary Kronk's Comet 35P/Herschel-Rigollet page
30. C/1790 Herschel 1 (C/1790 A1, 1790I). 1st comet of 1790.
The 77th comet with a calculated orbit. Messier's memoir for this comet is found in Mem. Acad., 1790, pp. 309-312 + Pl. III [Bibcode: 1797MmARS1790..309M]; this plate also shows the "Nebula" M15. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 489-490.
31. 8P/Tuttle (8P/1790 A2, 1790II Méchain). 2nd comet of 1790.
The 78th comet with a calcualted orbit. Messier's memoir for this comet is found in Mem. Acad., 1790, pp. 313-319 + Pl. IV [Bibcode: 1797MmARS1790..313M]. This map contains the unlabeled position of nebula M77. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 490-491. Gary Kronk's Comet 8P/Tuttle page
32. C/1790 Herschel 2 (C/1790 H1, 1790III). 3rd comet of 1790.
The 79th with a calculated orbit. Messier's memoir for this comet, together with the two other comets of the same year 1790, is found in Mem. Acad., 1790, pp. 320-343 + Pl. V [Bibcode: 1797MmARS1790..320M]. This chart shows the unlabeled positions of a bunch of Messier's nebulae: M31, M32, M33, M74, M76, M34, M52, M81, M82, M97, M51, NGC 5195 (!), M63, M94, M64, M65, M66, as well as Virgo Cluster galaxies M98, M99, M100, M85, M84, M86, M87, M88, M89, M90, M91, M58, M59, M60 and M49, the Coma Berenice star cluster, as well as the position of Tycho's supernova (SN 1572). It does not contain the position of M95 and M96, nor M103 (which Messier had presumably determined in 1781 after publication of the catalog), M108 and M109 (or M109B) which Messier had seen in 1781, nor that of Méchain's discoveries M105 and M106. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 491-493.
33. C/1791 Herschel (C/1791 X1, 1792I). Comet of 1791.
Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 493-494.
34. C/1793 Gregory (C/1793 A1, 1792II). 1st comet of 17.93
Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 494-496.
35. C/1793 Perny (C/1793 S1, 1793II). 3rd comet of 1793.
Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 496-497.
36. C/1793 Messier (C/1793 S2, 1793I). 4th comet of 1793.
Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 497-498.
37. C/1797 Bouvard-Herschel-Lee (C/1797 P1, 1797).
Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 501-502.
38. C/1798 Messier (C/1798 G1, 1798I). 1st comet of 1798.
Messier's memoir was published in Rec. Inst., Vol. 2, 1799 (an VII), pp. 429-430 [Bibcode: 1799RecIn...2..429M]. Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, p. 503.
39. C/1798 Bouvard (C/1798 X1, 1798II). 2nd comet of 1798.
Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 503-504.
40. C/1799 Méchain 1 (C/1799 P1, 1799I). 1st comet of 1799.
Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 504-506.
41. C/1799 Méchain 2 (C/1799 Y1, 1799II). 2nd comet of 1799.
Ref: Cometography Vol. 1, pp. 506-507.
42. C/1801 Pons or Pons-Messier-Méchain-Bouvard (C/1801 N1, 1801).
Messier's observations and memoir can be found in: Connaissance des Tems pour l'an XIII (1804-1805, published 1803), pp. 484-485 [Bibcode: 1803CdT..an13..484M], as well as in Rec. Inst., Vol. 6, 1806, p. 62 [Bibcode: 1806RecIn...6...62M]. G.M. Caglieris' account of comet 1801. Ref: Cometography Vol. 2, pp. 1-2.
43. C/1802 Pons (C/1802 Q1, 1802).
Messier's observations and memoir can be found in: Connaissance des Tems pour l'an XIV (1805-1806, published 1804), pp. 236-237 [Bibcode: 1804CdT..an14..236M]. Ref: Cometography Vol. 2, pp. 2-3.
44. C/1804 Pons (C/1804 E1, 1804).
Messier's observations were published in the Connaissance des Tems pour l'an XV (1806-1807, published 1805), page 374 [Bibcode: 1805CdT..an15..374M]. Ref: Cometography Vol. 2, pp. 3-4.
45. 2P/Encke (2P/1805 U1, 1805 Pons-Huth-Bouvard). 1st comet of 1805.
Messier's observation unpublished, reported in his Notes (No. 45). Third observed apparition of comet 2P/Encke. Also see: Comet 2P/1786I Ref: Cometography Vol. 2, pp. 4-6.
More on comet 2P/Encke; Gary Kronk's Comet 2P/Encke page
46. C/1807 Great Comet (C/1807 R1, 1807 Pons).
Messier's observation unpublished, reported in his Notes (No. 46). Probably seen by many in Southern Hemisphere weeks earlier, credited to C. Giovanni (Sicily, Sep 9), observed by S. Pease (USA, Sep 21 morning), and rediscovered by Pons (Marseille, Sep 21 evening). Ref: Cometography Vol. 2, pp. 10-15.
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