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Comments, corrections, more names or sources, and suggestions welcome.

                List of Common Names for Messier Objects
                              Version 1.1
          compiled by Hartmut Frommert (phfrom@nyx.uni-konstanz.de)

Names used in various sources:

M1   "The Crab Nebula" (Rosse 1844)
M6   "Butterfly cluster"
     (`Splendors of the Heavens', Phillips/Steaphenson 1923)
M8   "The Lagoon Nebula"
M11  "The Wild Duck Cluster" (Smyth)
M13  "Great Hercules Globular Cluster" (I admit: not very original :-))
M16  associated with the "Eagle Nebula" or "Star Queen Nebula" (IC 4703)
M17  "The Omega (or Swan, or Horseshoe) Nebula"
M20  "The Trifid Nebula"
M24  Milky Way Patch (star cloud) containing open cluster NGC 6603,
     "Delle Caustiche"
M27  "The Dumbbell Nebula", "Diablo Nebula", "Double-Headed Shot"
     (latter two contributed by Jeff Bondono)
M31  "The Andromeda Galaxy"
M32  Satellite galaxy of M31
M33  "The Triangulum Galaxy" (also "Pinwheel")
     Pinwheel alternatively applied to M101
M40  Double Star WNC4 in Ursa Major
M42  The Great Orion Nebula
M43  "de Mairan's nebula" (NGC), part of the Orion Nebula
M44  Praesepe, the Beehive Cluster
M45  Subaru, the Pleiades--the Seven Sisters
M51  "The Whirlpool Galaxy", Lord Rosse's "Question Mark"
M57  "The Ring Nebula"
M63  "The Sunflower galaxy"
M64  "The Blackeye galaxy"
M65  forms the "Leo Triplet" with M66 and NGC 3628
M66  forms the "Leo Triplet" with M65 and NGC 3628
M76  is cited with 3 common names:
     1. "The Little Dumbbell Nebula" (most common, e.g. Sky Catalogue 2000)
     2. "The Cork Nebula" (e.g. Burnham)
     3. "The Butterfly Nebula" (e.g. a CFHT slide set I got from
        Hansen Planetarium some time ago).
     All 3 can be motivated by its appearance in different
     aperture telescopes, with different filters, and on photos
     with different exposure times.
     4. "The Apple Core Nebula" is the name Mike Frazier proposes for it.
     NB: This object seems to attract names like no other: It has also two
        NGC numbers: 650 and 651.
M81  is sometimes called "Bode's Nebula" (Murdin/Allen/Malin 1979) or better,
     "Bode's Galaxy".
M87  "Virgo A" is in the center of the Virgo cluster
     its active center is called "The Smoking Gun" (Nasa/STScI)
M97  "The Owl Nebula"
M101 "The Pinwheel Galaxy" (this name shared with M33)
     [Murdin/Allen/Malin 1979, Sky Catalogue 2000]
M104 "The Sombrero Galaxy"
M110 Satellite galaxy of M31

Propositions for further names:

M7   "Ptolemy's cluster" (Ptolemy mentioned it 138 AD, hf)
M11  "Summer Salt-and-Pepper" (contributed by Jeff Bondono)
M29  "Nuclear Cooling Tower" (Jeff Bondono)
M34  "Spiral Cluster" (Jeff Bondono)
M36  "Pinwheel Cluster" (Jeff Bondono)
M37  "Winter Salt-and-Pepper" (Jeff Bondono)
M38  "Starfish Cluster" (Jeff Bondono)
M50  "Heart-Shaped Cluster" (Jeff Bondono)
M52  "Autumn Salt-and-Pepper" (Jeff Bondono)
M82  "The Cigar Galaxy" (contributed by Tom Polakis)
M93  "Butterfly Cluster" (Jeff Bondono; shared with M6, see above)
M102[?]=NGC 5866 "The Spindle Galaxy" (hf)
---
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