Messier Marathon

en.wikipedia.org

38 points·Hooke··5 comments

I was thinking of posting something similar since we’re into galaxy spotting season here in the northern hemisphere. I plan to do it with my Dwarf DII telescope :-)

Some additional links to help fellow amateur astronomers and astrophotographers:

https://www.messier-objects.com/messier-marathon/

https://www.dwarfvision.com/object-catalogues/jbs-dsos

https://youtu.be/-QKHuNJKEgA

> we’re into galaxy spotting season here in the northern hemisphere

What does this mean? Why is this more difficult in fall and winter?

This has to do with the rotation/inclination of the earth and the seasons, the time the sun sets and what is visible in the celestial sphere. For us in the northern hemisphere (I’m in Greece) it means that during spring it’s a lot easier to see most, if not all, Messier objects in a single night.

It also has something to do with the distribution of galaxies visible to amateur-scale telescopes. I think of the Leo-Virgo section region as particularly galaxy-rich, but I don't pay much attention if it's outside of 40 AU.

I have always wanted to do one of these, but I have the worst luck of having time off with clear skies. I either have clear skies and no time off, or time off and poor visibility.

Would love to hear from anyone that has attempted this, how far did you get? Any thoughts on what you'd need to do next time to improve?

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