Hello, fellow SkySearchers. Thanks for the help you all gave in trying to prepare for our recent attempt at a
Messier Marathon. (Several of you helped figure out which targets we could capture in the same field of view.) I guess we were 60 objects in (toward the entire 110) when a London-like fog descended on our observing location (from the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky USA). The good news is - it provided us with a good learning opportunity to develop some muscle memory (we trust) for next time. We're watching every night sky, waiting (and hoping) for the next clear-sky opportunity. But for whatever it's worth, here's a four-hour livestream from last Saturday night's attempt (March 2nd, 2024).
Here's just one screenshot from the 60 objects we
were able to capture pre-fog. This is the Leo Triplet, after just 3 minutes of integration, M65 (right top), M66 (right bottom), and (a non-
Messier object)
NGC 3628 (left):
We
tried to average 3 minutes per object -- but I confess, I have a little more work to do to learn to keep up that pace. I get carried away sometimes admiring the beauty of all these objects. This was my fourth year in a row to attempt a
Messier Marathon. (Fortunately, the weather was better in each of the last three years. I shouldn't complain about the weather this year. We've had great weather each of the past 3 years and were able to catch all 110 objects in 2021 (observing with a group) and catching 109 of the 110 in 2022 (again, with a group). Last year, a friend and I again caught 109 objects (again, missing only M30). My observatory location is great for so many reasons -- but observing M30 in a marathon is not one of them. There's a building *exactly* in the way. I knew it when we chose the location - so I've no one to blame but myself. But it was still the best overall location for everything
but M30 in a
Messier Marathon. haha true.)
Here's a 4-hour live stream of the entire session on YouTube, in case you might want to scrub through a portion just for fun. The best part is - the price of admission is free -- and you get to see exactly what I was seeing.
https://www.youtube.com/live/TkltKSrO6m ... UxUHT6Ui3-
Live to fight another day. : )
Special thanks to Pete (
@Xio1996 ) for inviting me to this forum, for his assistance with Astroplanner scripts, and for his great encouragement and friendship in continuing in this cool hobby.
Doug
EAA Observing from the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Telescope: Celestron RASA 11 - Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Software: AstroPlanner (with occasional help from SkyTools 4 Pro), Stellarium, SharpCap and Nina (the latter purely for autofocusing).
YouTube 'EmeraldHillsSkies'
https://www.youtube.com/@EmeraldHillsSkies