Messier Marathon

What are Messier Objects?

(Blatently copied from the Wikipedia entry for "Messier Object"): The Messier objects are a set of 110 astronomical objects catalogued by the French astronomer Charles Messier in his Catalogue des Nébuleuses et des Amas d'Étoiles (Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters). Because Messier was only interested in finding comets, he created a list of those non-comet objects that frustrated his hunt for them. The compilation of this list, in collaboration with his assistant Pierre Méchain, is known as the Messier catalogue. This catalogue of objects is one of the most famous lists of astronomical objects, and many Messier objects are still referenced by their Messier numbers.The catalogue includes most of the astronomical deep-sky objects that can easily be observed from Earth's Northern Hemisphere; many Messier objects are popular targets for amateur astronomers.

What is a Messier Marathon?

(Copied from the Wikipedia entry for "Messier Marathon"): The number of Messier objects visible in any one night varies depending on a few factors, including the location of the observer, the duration of daylight and nighttime, and the season (the positions of the Messier objects relative to the Sun varies with the season). At low northern latitudes, particularly around latitude 25° north, it is possible to observe all Messier objects in one night during a window of a few weeks from mid-March to early April.

(From "The Messier Marathon" ): Messier Marathon was invented independently by several North American (including Tom Hoffelder, Tom Reiland and Don Machholz) and perhaps one Spanish amateur astronomers and groups, in the 1970s. It was probably first in the night of March 23/24, 1985 that Gerry Rattley from Dugas, Arizona, completed the list and hunted down all 110 Messier Objects in one night; while he was the first to achieve this goal, it was only about one hour later that Rick Hull duplicated this success from Anza, California. This is however possible only under exceptionally good observing conditions, and at a preferred location.

Sunset: 6:55pm PDT Twilight Ends: 8:21pm PDT Twilight Begins: 5:24am PDT Sunrise: 6:50am PDT

Location: Within a couple of miles of the junction of Hwy 95 and Hwy 373 in Amargosa Valley. The location will be announced once there is an idea of how many people will be attending. One site can hold lots of people, but is closer to the lights at the hwy junction. The other site is almost twice as far away, but holds fewer people.

So as of right now, Feb 26, please email me at David.Blanchette@lvastronomy.org to let me know you plan to attend. In addition to an attendee count, this will give me email addresses for updates, mainly concerning the weather, which has been crazy the past few weeks/months. This area is flat and subject to some interesting winds.

This location is wilderness camping; pack it in, pack it out. Within 2 miles, there is a rest area with flush toilets, two gas stations with C-stores, an RV park, and the Alien Center Brothel (not endorsing brothels in one way or another, it's just amusing to mention it in the description of facilities of possible interest near an astronomy event). NO OPEN FIRES! Propane stove fires only. You can sleep in your car, or set up a tent. The site is RV accessible.

Please note: This is NOT a public star party (please attend the one on March 25). This is an event for astronomers to dedicate some time to pursue their personal observation of the sky. Some will actually perform the marathon. Others will just observe/photograph objects of interest to them. This is not a place for anyone who is not proficient in setting up and using their telescope or other equipment.

Attendees are expected to arrive before 7:00pm PDT. Obviously, if you plan to perform the marathon, you should be there in time to set up your equipment so you can find the objects that are only at a decent altitude during twilight. You need not stay the entire night, but it would be nice if everyone stayed at least until midnight.