Messier Object Catalog Fields

The MICA Version 2.0 Messier Object catalog is the same catalog that was used in MICA 1.x. In the description below, 'b' stands for a blank character and 'N' stands for a single (0-9) digit.

The following fields are contained within each entry in the MICA Messier Object catalog:

Messier Number

Messier format is 'MbNNN', where 'NNN' is a 1-3 digit number (1-109). Note that there is no object M 40. This is a searchable field. Example: 'M 31'.

New General Catalog (NGC) Number

NGC format is 'NGCbNNNN', where 'NNNN' is a 1-4 digit number. Some objects do not have NGC numbers. This is a searchable field. Example: 'NGC 224'.

Proper or Common Name

Only a handful of objects have proper names. Since the object name fields in MICA 1.x were restricted to eight characters, longer proper names have been truncated (e.g., 'WHIRLPOOL' is listed as 'WHIRLPOO'). This is a searchable field. Example: 'CRAB'.

V (F8.4)

V magnitude, if available. This is a searchable field.