IAS/SDAS Messier Marathon on Friday 12th

Hi All,

The IAS and SDAS will be holding a messier marathon on Friday 12th March and/or Saturday 13th.

We will be meet up outside Kilmacanoge at 8.30 for a 9PM start.
The plan is to go to the Car Park at the Sugarloaf but if this is not suitable we will go to our observing site in Ballyraemon.

If you are interested please ring "087-6398143" between 7 and 8 on the 12th to confirm the observing session is going ahead.

Regards,

Michael.

Directions to the Meeting point and Ballyraemon observing site are at:
www.irishastronomy.org/about/ifas-maps?task=viewmap&mapId=2
Click on SDAS Meeting point and SDAS Ballyraemon.

The Sugarloaf carpark is on the other side of the main Roundwood.


Michael O'Connell has put together the IFAS Messier Handbook which is available here:
www.irishastronomy.org/index.php/compone...ssier-challenge.html

Courtesy of John Flannery:

More details on the Messier Marathon can be found at the following links ...

seds.org/MESSIER/ and seds.org/MESSIER/xtra/marathon/mm2010.html

www.atmob.org/library/member/skymaps_jsmall.html (charts for 1-power finders such as Telrads)

www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/000790.html (Jeremy Perez observing all 110 objects in 15x70 binoculars)

www.coaa.co.uk/messmara.zip (software to determine the number of M-objects visible from your location)

Many thanks Michael.

Just to add, serious Marathoners can go straight to the Sugar Loaf car park because you will need to be set up and ready for the starter's gun by 7:30pm. Two difficult objects, M74 (in Pisces) and M77 (in Cetus) are getting quite low while there is lingering twilight -- it means you only have a short window of opportunity to sweep up both galaxies.

If you are planning to go straight to the Sugar Loaf for 7pm to 7:30pm then ring John Flannery on 086-8181931 . Many thanks!

Some "shallow sky" targets during the night include Venus, Mars and Saturn, Comet Wild 2, and the dwarf planets Ceres and Vesta.

Binoculars will let you snare many other non-Messier objects such as Cr 399, the Hyades, Cr 70 (the Belt of Orion), the Alpha Persei OB Association, Mel 111 (the Coma Berenices star cluster), NGC 6633 (a gem of a non-Messier open cluster in Ophiuchus) and in the same low-power field, the Double Cluster in Perseus and Stock 2 in Cassiopeia.

John

John Said:

Just to add, serious Marathoners can go straight to the Sugar Loaf car park because you will need to be set up and ready for the starter's gun by 7:30pm. Two difficult objects, M74 (in Pisces) and M77 (in Cetus) are getting quite low while there is lingering twilight -- it means you only have a short window of opportunity to sweep up both galaxies.

I was thinking that myself John, 9.00 will mean missing some objects and being there and ready just after sunset is ideal.

When it comes to recording the observations I have a small digital voice recorder, recording the session in spoken words will free up my hands and give me less to worry about holding. So if anyone thinks I'm talking to myself don't be alarmed as I'm actually talking to a piece of machinery.

Paul

Hi Paul,

That makes 2 of us that will be muttering in the dark! I'm planning on using the recording feature of the mobile to keep notes on the night.

I was out at the Sugar Loaf last night by 7:30pm and got a chance check the lie of the land. The car park is accessible and two cars were there when I arrived. However, I decided to set up in Ballyremon instead. Venus had set by this time but Pisces and Cetus were still high enough for someone to snare M74 and M77. I was using 15x70mm binoculars and can’t confirm M74 but did see M77.

Later, I met up with Paul Tipper and Alan Murphy down at Alan’s house near Ashford. It’s a superb location and the skies were magnificent. We stayed until near 1am and over the course of a few hours we tracked down nearly 50 deep-sky objects along with getting views of Mars and Saturn. With the M50/M11 pretty accessible I’d concur with what Michael Murphy said to me yesterday that we should look for a site deeper into Wicklow that offers excellent sky conditions if certain nights look very promising for observing.

John

Unfortunately I'm in the Isle of Man until next Thursday, or I would be joining you for the Marathon.

If you are looking for a really good observing site in the Wicklow mountains then I can recommend the top of Turlough Hill power station (near Glendalough):

maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?source=s_q&hl=...004816fd3fba6c14d3e3

You will need to get permission (and an access key) from the manager of the ESB Turlough Hill generating station first - so go armed with details of insurance and a waiver of indemnity if you have one. The top of Turlough Hill is flat, dry and hard, and offers 360 degree views of the sky. There is almost no light pollution except on the horizon from Dublin and the larger coastal towns, right down on the horizon. There is shelter to be had from the wind in an area of rock excavated to build the upper reservoir. And best of all... it's pretty high up, so you are likely to be above any night time inversion layer! I observed there once, years ago - it's a really great site.

Good luck with the Messier Marathon.

Phil.

PS - I have the wording of a Waiver of Indemnity (in favour of the landowner) we use for negotiating access to mountains the hang gliding club wants to fly from. You could alter it to suit astronomy clubs.

Hi Phil,

Have the ESB actually let your hang gliding club (or anyone else) use Turlough Hill?

Michael.