Messier Marathon

Hi lads, 

Sorry I've missed out on conversation over the past week. If you're still taking suggestions I have a couple as I am fairly familiar with the Wicklow Mountains. It seems like there is a particular order by which one does the Marathon. Will we need a Western sky for the start of the event though? 

Clear skies, 

Darren. 

Darren, there are plenty of online sites that give the observing list order.  A western sky is useful for catching M74 and M77 before they disappear.  M30 is tricky in the pre-dawn sky.
Paul

Thanks for that Paul. I've looked through a couple of websites and the odd YouTube video. I'm beginning to think I may have bitten off more than I can chew, but It will be fun.

Clear skies,

Darren.

Hi All,

While I'm sure many of you will have your own charts for the Messier Marathon, I thought I share this one I found. It is specifically designed for individuals who do not have a 'go to' scope. 

Here is the link:  astrohum.org/tumol.pdf

As I'll be using a manual scope and a Telrad, I am going to use this PDF on the night. Of course, if anyone feels there is a better chart for a manual scope I'd love to hear from you.

Clear skies,

Darren.

Excellent charts, I use an alt az mount myself and binoculars.  The marathon sounds daunting, but it's not really.  Once past the Virgo cluster a break can be taken and there are some objects that might not be seen, I'm thinking M6 and M7 and possibly M74 and M77.  It will be fun to see how many can be seen.

Hi Paul,

Many thanks for your message. I'm going to bring my 10 X 50s too as the XT6 has a fairly narrow FOV. I'm looking forward to it, and it should be a bit of fun too.

Clear skies,

Darren.