Messier Marathon in Turkey next March

hi all,

I haven't seen this mentioned yet, but there's a brilliant opportunity for anyone going to Turkey for the eclipse in March to complete the Messier Marathon.

with the Moon out of the way (obviously!), I found that all 109 objects (110 if you include NGC205, the satellite galaxy of M31) are visible in a single night from Antalya. The same night(s) in 2006 also potentially gives you a chance to see all 9 solar system planets (nope, not Xena) too.

anyone up for doing a marathon??? Clear skies, please, please, please . . .

John

Yup, I'd be well up for it. Of course, I imagine most of us'll be doing the marathon with binoculars/small scopes rather than large SCTs, light buckets, etc., but at least it'll keep us out of the pub (for one night at least! )

Thats an excellent idea, I'd be definitely on for that.
I'll be bringing a 4" refractor, so it should be good for that.
Maybe even do it more then once, just to satisfy the hardcore astronomers :lol:

Thats a fab idea John. Have you thought about how to record the maraton, and if there is a 'moderator' on the night?

Seanie.

Michael's Messier Observing Challenge is ideal to record all the info. I also have my "Springtime 60" for people using binoculars in the 10x50mm bracket. Hope you are ready Mick for thousands of demands for Observing Challenge certificates!

as will all Messier Marathon's, a trust system is ideal . . . i.e. if ya claim ya saw it, we'll believe you. People are only fooling themselves if they try and cheat! Anyway, if someone can't find an M object, they just have to holler on the night and we'll give them a dig out.

preparedness is the key though. You really want to know the instrument you will be using. That is, no point in pressing a Skylux into service without being aware of the field-of-view, etc. of the scope. Being familar with the locations of the M objects -- plus knowing the order to look for them in -- is a must. Mentioning Skylux, the Meade ETX 70 is allowed; a note is just made in the observing log that a GoTo instrument was used for the challenge.

I guess if we are serious about this we should register our intent on the SEDS web site Seanie and appoint someone to liaise with them on submission of certificate claims, etc.

some sites to check up on (besides the Messier Observing Challenge Handbook on this site) are;


the SEDS Messier Marathon page can be found at ...

www.seds.org/messier/xtra/marathon/marathon.html

...with their 2006 Marathon page at . . .

www.seds.org/messier/xtra/marathon/mm2006.html

I also recommend downloading the complete set of Telrad finder charts from www.atmob.org/Articles/skymaps_jsmall.html

based on the results from a little utility I previously posted in the FILES section (messmara.zip), it looks like March 31st is the first night we have a chance to snare M30, a notoriously difficult object to observe with the rapidly approaching dawn.

maybe early in the new year we could start discussing the Marathon option seriously. We would also need to talk to Terry about his recent recce to Antalya to see if there is an observing site outside the city. If so, we may need to hire a car or two as well.

ltr,

John
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Sounds like you've got your head screwed on right, John! The Telrad charts look pretty handy to print and bind for quick-views, and Michael's Challenge Handbook would be, by far, the best recording tool!

Seanie.