| Description | Barnabus Oriani is credited with the discovery of this nebula on May 5, 1779, 6 days before Charles Messier's independent discovery. Both were observing the comet of that year, and had mistaken the nebula for the comet on the same day, However, Messier mistook it for two nights more, failing to notice that did not move and did not record his observation until May 11, 1779. Oriani noticed his mistake immediately. Messier's catalog entry: "Nebula, very faint & difficult to perceive. M. Messier mistook this nebula for the Comet of 1779, on the 5th, 6th & 11th of May; on the 11th he recognized that this was not the Comet, but a nebula which was located on its path & in the same point [place] of the sky.". <--> This is a lovely Intermediate spiral galaxy... meaning intermediate between a classic spiral and barred. The spiral structure is prominent in the brighter, more central section of the galaxy. However the brightest part of the center is beginning to elongate into a bar, and the outer arms of the galaxy are taking on a classic reverse "S" shape characteristic of more mature, barred galaxies. |
