The Messier catalogue from a balcony

The Messier catalogue is the 110 best-known nebulae, galaxies and clusters, a list Charles Messier compiled in the 18th century so as not to confuse them with comets. For amateurs it has long been the yardstick: capturing all 110 means touring the most interesting sky there is.

From the balcony only the eastern half of the sky is visible, so part of the catalogue is out of reach in principle and the rest waits for its season. On the map every cell is one object: the colour shows the status, and cells with an image link to the object page.