See the Messier Catalog sorted by Sky Atlas 2000 chart number
A survey of the Messier catalogue is a common introduction to deep sky observing among amateur astronomers. I also find myself ritually observing it with every new telescope I acquire. There are no special techniques to observing the objects, beyond those for general deep sky observing, so the function of this page is mainly aesthetic and inspirational.
Some sketches of Messier objects are included here. These were all made with telescopes set up in the middle of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, just north of Akron, in the mid 1980's. So these are definitely light-polluted versions of these views.
M13, 6" f/8. 90x. Rifts were visible at 182x. 7-21-86
M27, 8" f/4.5. 90x. 7-23-86.
M52. 6" f/8. This is a compound drawing. The scale and field of view are at 40x, but for careful plotting of the cluster members, magnification was increased to 90x. 8-9-86.
M57. 10" f/4.5. Naked eye limit magnitude 4.3, under heavily light polluted skies, no filter. 90x. 7-22-86.
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