Date: August 29, 2009
Title: My Life With Charlie
Podcaster: David Powell
Organization: None
Description: This podcast takes a look at the life and times of Charles Messier from his human foibles to his contributions to astronomy. The podcast also takes a look at how Charlie’s catalog influenced my career in amateur astronomy and perhaps he can help you out too.
Bio: Dave is a retired police officer, who lives in Longview, Washington and volunteers at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. You can often find Dave in OMSI’s planetarium or under the dark skies of the Museum’s Hancock Field Station in Eastern Oregon. Dave is very active in astronomy outreach and has given many public presentations in the Pacific Northwest and The Oregon Star Party.
Today’s sponsor: This episode of “365 Days of Astronomy” is sponsored by Joseph Brimacombe.
Transcript:
Hi, I’m Dave Powell an amateur astronomer, who helps out at the Kendall Planetarium, its part of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry or as we like to call it OMSI. In my previous 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast, I took a comparative look at Kepler and Galileo. This time I want to take a look at one of my favorite astronomers and how he affected my life, Charles Messier. I have a certain affinity with Charlie, as we were both born on the same day in June, a mere 221 years apart.
If you are new to astronomy, you may not know Charles Messier. Almost everyone who has looked at objects in the night sky, beyond the Moon and Planets, has heard of this great astronomer; and no, he is not related to Mark, even though his name is spelled the same way.
Charlie was born in 1730 in the small town of Badonviller, in the Lorranie region of what is now France. This family was well off and lived in a large house, partly out of necessity, as Charlie was the 10th of 12 children, but sadly, half of his siblings had died before he was born. His Father worked for the local prince and made a very good living. One of the first tragedies that struck Charlie’s life happened in 1741, when his Father dies suddenly and his older brother becomes the head of the family. Hyacinthe Messier, yes Charley’s older brother was named Hyacinthe, also worked for the prince, so the family was able to stay in Badonviller.
Charlie was a rambunctious child, but not very agile, as in the same year, his Father died, he fell out of an open window and broke his leg. Charlie was taken out of school and Hyacinthe took charge of his education. Hyacinthe taught Charlie about working in government and the importance of being very methodical and precise in his work; skills that would come in handy for a future astronomer. Chuck always enjoyed observing the night sky and during his 8 years under Hyacinths’ charge, he observed the great 6 tailed comet of 1744 and later, in 1748, he saw an annular solar eclipse, which reinforced his interest in astronomy.
By 1751, Charlie was 21 years old and it was time he made his own way in the world. A friend of the Messier family setup a couple of job interviews for Charlie, in Paris. Two job offers came Charlie’s way and after careful consideration, Hyacinthe decided that Charlie should take the job at the Navy’s Observatory in Paris, instead of a job as a palace curator. Hyacinthe thought the job at the observatory offered a better future and as it turned out, he was right.
What does a 21 year old young man, untrained in astronomy, do at the Naval Observatory? Why he copies a map of China, of course! One of the reasons Charlie got the job at the observatory was because of his excellent handwriting. Copying large maps is precise work and this was done in a large unheated room during the winter; once again, excellent training for a future astronomer. The observatory’s director, Joseph Delisle, takes him under his wing and teaches him all about astronomy.
Charlie records his first astronomical observation, two years later and this is the start of something that affects the lives of many amateur astronomers to this day. By 1758, Charlie had independently discovered what we now know as M1, The Crab Nebula and his first comet, both in the constellation of Taurus. Over the next 11 years Charlie carefully records his observations, as he searches for comets and discovers, there many other objects in the night sky that look very similar to comets. By 1769 he had carefully plotted the position of 41 non-comets and he now had a reputation as a good astronomer and discoverer of comets. What to do next? Publish a catalog of objects and warn other astronomers, not to confuse any of these objects with comets. Somehow, 41 objects, does not have a wonderful ring to it… so, why not add 4 more objects and submit a more important catalog of 45 Objects; this is why M42 through M45 seem out of place in his catalog. These objects, the Orion Nebula, the Beehive Cluster, and the Pleiades, were well known at the time and Charlie just wanted a larger number of objects in his catalog; after all, no astronomer of the time would ever have confused any of these objects with a comet. By 1770 he is elected to the Paris Academie Royale des Sciences and being 40 years old and successful, he gets married. Less than 2 years later, another tragedy affects Charlie’s life, when his wife and son both die due to complications of child birth.
Charlie continues with his observations and discoveries and adds to his catalog, eventually recording the positions of 103 objects. The last of the objects to be discovered is M107, a fairly bright Globular cluster in Ophiuchus, which was first observed by Charlie’s colleague, Pierre Mechain.
The year 1781 had its ups and downs for Charlie. His last catalog was published that year and once again, tragedy befalls him. While he was visiting a friend’s estate, this careful observer, walks through a door without looking and falls about 25 feet into an ice cellar, breaking his leg, wrist, and a couple of ribs. Charlie was not fond of the medical arts, perhaps, because several days after the accident, doctors had to re-break his leg so it would heal properly. He was never the same after the fall. There was also more competition in astronomy, as in the same year, William Herschel discovered a new planet and was using his superior telescope to catalog many objects in the sky. On a side note, out of respect for Charlie, William Herschel never cataloged any of the Messier objects. Charlie must have realized, with his poor health and other astronomers having better instruments, his time at the forefront of astronomy had passed. Louis the XV had named him the “Ferret of Comets,” because of his many discoveries. Chuck was able to keep his head during the French revolution by keeping a low profile; several of his outspoken friends did not survive. As a final honor Napoleon awarded Charlie, “The Cross of the Legion,” apparently in exchange for Charlie renaming the great comet he had discovered in 1769, “Napoleon’s Comet.” Charlie went even further, breaking with science, announcing publicly, this great comet had foretold the birth of Napoleon. Charles died at age 87, 2 years after suffering a stroke.
How do events that happened 250 years ago, affect amateur astronomers today? Well they can have a great influence on anyone; just like they had on me. I got started in astronomy, after viewing Saturn through a neighbor’s telescope, when I was about 9 years old. I was able to acquire a small telescope and a basic planisphere and tried to learn the constellations. Growing up in Portland, Oregon, is not the best area of the country for observing, averaging 155 days a year of measureable rainfall and it is often cloudy the other 210 days. My interest waned, but as the years past, I still kept reading science, astronomy, and following stories about the space program; after all I graduated from high school the same year Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon. In the early 1980’s, I returned to astronomy and purchased an 8” Cave Astrola reflecting telescope, a very fine instrument, that I enjoyed for many years. As I used the telescope I got better at finding objects in the night sky, but found myself returning to the easy objects like the Moon, planets, and a few of the brighter objects. With my interest in astronomy again beginning to wane, I discovered Charles Messier and his wonderful list of deep sky objects.
Charlie’s catalog of dim fuzzes are not always easy to find, but all were well within the reach of my 8” telescope; after all Charlie’s favorite telescope was a 4” refractor. With my renewed interest in astronomy, I joined an astronomy club and got some first class help. I learned there are numerous observing programs through the Astronomical League and you can even earn an observing award, if you are able to observe and record all 110 objects in the Messier Catalog. I set the goal of completing Charlie’s List and after about 15 months I got my Messier certificate and pin. Now, I am no great observer, but observing the complete list, taught me how to navigate the night sky. I can go outside on any clear night of the year and see my old friends, Hercules, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, or Orion. Maybe because I had such a hard time learning the night sky, my goal now is to help people understand some of the basics of astronomy. I am able to point out the constellations to many people who are just starting out in astronomy and sharing some mythology about the stars, helps them locate and remember where these beautiful objects can be found.
It can be tough to get started in astronomy if you try to figure things out by yourself. Not only do you have to learn how to use your telescope, you also have to learn your way around the night sky. So if you share a view of one of these beautiful objects with adults or maybe a 9 year old kid, be sure to let them know, there is plenty of help available from dedicated individuals or a local astronomy club. You might also want to introduce them to my good friend Charlie Messier; he might just become one of their best friends too. Thanks for listening.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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