M33

M33, M-33, or M.33 may refer to:

See also

Deep-sky object

Deep-sky objects are astronomical objects other than individual stars and Solar System objects (such as Sun, Moon, planets, comets, etc.). The classification is used for the most part by amateur astronomers to denote visually observed faint naked eye and telescopic objects such as star clusters, nebulae and galaxies.

Origins and classification

Classifying non-stellar astronomical objects began soon after the invention of the telescope. One of the earliest comprehensive lists was Charles Messier's 1774 Messier catalog, which included 103 "nebulae" and other faint fuzzy objects he considered a nuisance since they could be mistaken for comets, the objects he was actually searching for. As telescopes improved these faint nebulae would be broken into more descriptive scientific classifications such as interstellar clouds, star clusters, and galaxies.

"Deep-sky object", as an astronomical classification for these objects, has its origins in the modern field of amateur astronomy. The origin of the term is unknown but it was popularized by Sky & Telescope magazine's "Deep-Sky Wonders" column, which premiered in their first edition in 1941, created by Leland S. Copeland, written for the majority of its run by Walter Scott Houston, and currently penned by Sue French. Houston's columns, and later book compilations of those columns, helped popularize the term, each month giving the reader a guided tour of a small part of the sky highlighting well known and lesser known objects for binoculars and small telescopes.