The Fall Messier Marathon Guide

1
The Fall Messier Marathon Guide

• Ed Ting, NHAS, CMP Oct 17th 2008

2
Messier Marathon

• An informal competition to locate the most
  Messier objects by a single observer during a
  dusk-to-dawn Marathon.

3
How Many Can You Expect To See?

• March 108-110
• June 90-95
• October 100-102

4
From Southern NH

• Daylight lasts approx 11 hours and 30 minutes
• Everything is shifted by 6 hours compared to a
  conventional March MM

5
What Doesnt Change

• You still have to stay up all night long
• The average time to find each object goes up
  about 7 minutes, 25 seconds per object
• The busiest times are the beginning and the end,
  with a lull in the middle

6
Your New Problem Objects Are

• M4 and M80 are right on the western horizon
• M104, M68, and M83 are lost in the morning sun

7
M3

• M3 is also a problem (18 deg above horizon at 6
  PM)

8
What Does Change

• M30, M72, and M73 are no longer difficult
• Scorpio is now the early problem
• March The Sun is in Capricorn
• October The Sun is in Virgo

9
One Big Change

• The Virgo Cluster must be tackled while the sun
  is rising
• Thus, the VC is now a Bonus Object
• M64, M53, M61, etc become problems also

10
For Experienced Observers

• You have to readjust your thinking
• Beginners have the upper hand here!

11
Your New Goal

• 91 Objects
• 5 Objects are not visible
• The Virgo Cluster galaxies (14 objects) become
  Bonus Objects.

12
The Sky at 600 PM
13
The First 2 Hours

• Goal Get 20 Objects (22 of total)
• M62, M19, M6, M7, M5, M97, M108, M109, M81, M82,
  M101, M102 (NGC 5866), M51, M3, M53, M63, M94,
  M107, M12, M10

14
The Sky at 10 PM
15
9 11 PM Sagittarius

• Sagittarius, Scutum, Ophiucus
• M10, M23, M24, M25, M69, M70, M54, M9, M14, M8,
  M20, M21, M28, M22, M55, M16, M17, M11, M26
• Goal Get 19 Objects (20, 42 of total)
• Lots of showpiece objects

16
Sagittarius/ Scorpius Area
17
The Sky at Midnight
18
Midnight to 2 AM

• Goal Get 22 objects (25, 67 total)
• M40, M106, M75, M13, M92, M57, M56, M27, M71, M2,
  M72, M73, M30, M29, M39, M15, M74, M77, M31, M32,
  M110, M33

19
The Sky at 4 AM
20
4 AM Winter Objects

• Goal Get 31 objects (33, 100)
• M103, M52, M34, M76, M79, M1, M45, M37, M36, M38,
  M50, M47, M46, M93, M41, M35, M41, M42, M43, M78,
  M48, M44, M67, M105, M96, M95, M65, M66, M61,
  M64, M85

21
The Virgo Cluster

• The bad news You have to find 14 dim objects
  (15 of the total MM)
• The VC is rising in the east, along with the sun!
• These are all Bonus Objects

22
The Virgo Cluster
23
Work From Left To Right
24
From Skymap
25
(No Transcript)
26
Youre Done!

• How did you do?
• Dont forget to report your results to the club
  for the newsletter.
• If you followed the Goals you should have 91
  objects (82)

27
Tips Tricks (p. 1 of 2)

• Use a scope with a short focal length
• Consider using an alt-az scope
• Bring a pair of binoculars
• Have a method for dealing with dew
• Eat light snacks throughout the evening
• Once in a particular area, stay there until you
  get all the objects there

28
Tips and Tricks (p. 2 of 2)

• Work West to East, South to North
• Work from a list
• Bring a chair
• Dont forget to have fun!

29
Books For Further Reading
30
Good Luck!