“Charles Messier – The Ferret of Comets”
presentation by Larry McHenry
Larry is based out of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and has been an active amateur astronomer for over 40 years. He is a member of the Kiski Astronomers and the Oil Region Astronomical Society (ORAS), both in Western Pennsylvania. Larry is a regular in-person presenter at the Cherry Springs Star Party and the Black Forest Star Party, and has published multiple articles in the Astronomical League’s “Reflector” magazine.
Larry provided a look back at the life of French astronomer Charles Messier, one of the best known astronomers and comet hunters from the ‘Age of Enlightenment,’ which marked the birth of modern science. He covered Messier’s greatest contribution – his list of deep-sky objects, to avoid while comet hunting, his ‘Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters,’ and also reviewed amateur observations of his deep-sky objects.
