Can you tell the Physical Properties of a Messier Object?

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Physical properties of Messier objects cannot be determined solely by their names, as the original list was created when the understanding of galaxies was limited. The classification of these objects is random, with no consistent order in terms of type, brightness, or distance. Memorizing all Messier objects is not necessary, and there are easier ways to study them. A useful tip is that the first 45 Messier objects are typically brighter than those that follow. Overall, a deeper understanding of each object requires more than just their names.
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Can you tell any physical properties of a Messier object by its name, such as M1 or M42? I know this may sound like a silly question, but I am doing an Astronomy GCSE and I thought that maybe there was a better way of just looking it up online and remembering it.
Thanks.
 
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No, you can't. The list was compiled at a time when nobody even had an idea what a galaxy is, so all those objects were just 'nebulae' (or, as Messier would probably explain to you: 'not comets'). If you look at the list of Messier objects, there's just no order to it: type, place in the sky, brightness, distance - all jump around pretty much randomly.

I hope they're not expecting you to memorize all of them?
 
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Thanks. I was just wondering if there was an easier way.

Bandersnatch said:
I hope they're not expecting you to memorize all of them?

Ha! I sure hope not!
 
One simple rule of thumb, though: the first 45 M objects are generally brighter than the rest.
 

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