 This nebula was discovered by the French astronomer Charles Messier while searching for comets in late January 1779.Messier's report of his independent discovery of Comet Bode reached fellow French astronomer Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix two weeks later, who then independently rediscovered the nebula while following the comet.Darquier later reported that it was ""...as large as Jupiter and resembles a planet which is fading"" (which may have contributed to the use of the "planetary nebula" terminology).