Messier Marathon, 13th and 20th March 2010

Charles Messier was a French astronomer looking for comets in the dark skies way back in the 18th century. While scouting the skies for the little dirty ice balls (comets, as we know!!!!!) he came across many objects which looked like comets but later turned out to be something else in the skies.

To make the search for comets simpler, Messier started cataloguing the objects which looked like comets but were not. He compiled a catalogue which came to be known to the astronomy world as the Messier catalogue, which amateurs now use for looking at the deep sky objects in the skies. It consists of 110 relatively bright deep sky objects (galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters). While cataloguing the objects he managed to find 13 comets!!!

The M objects are scattered throughout the sky especially in the northern hemisphere as he observed the same from the European skies. Amateur astronomers try to find all the M objects in one single night and have made it into a yearly feature as the Messier Marathon. In March when the sun is in Pisces, we have a good chance to see all the M objects in one night during a window of a few weeks from mid-March to early April. In that period the dark nights around the time of the new moon are best for a Messier Marathon.

Observing the Messier Objects:
Amateur astronomers across the globe wait for the month of March to have their run of a special Marathon in the skies. This year the favourable days are between 13-20 March when one has little hindrance from the biggest light pollutant in the night skies – The Moon!!!! The Observation can be done with a combination of astronomy equipment ranging from a pair of naked eyes or binoculars to telescopes. You need a dark site to observe the night skies and lot of patience and observational skills to catch all the M objects in one night. Don’t just look at M42, M45, M31 and finish your quota of Messier objects, see them all in one night. March is coming closer so get ready for the Marathon in the skies!!!!

SPACE encourages all to get observed in this Messier Objects observing sessions:

Suggestions for Observing:
Please use the links below for lists of Messier objects. At the end of the observations, please send us participation information at the contact address listed below and a report on observations. SPACE will give certificates for participation even if you observe just a few Messier objects.

Further Must-Reads:
List of Messier Objects -(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Messier_objects)
Messier database from SEDS - http://www.seds.org/messier/)

Must haves:
The Ultimate Messier Object Log - available at (http://www.davidpaulgreen.com/tumol.html)


Plans:
Astronomicans are planning to go to Jeewar for observing this on the nights of 13th/14th. Please contact Shikha Chanana at Email: "shikha chanana" for details.

Please submit and queries and Reports to:
Mila Mitra (Scientific Officer), Email: milam@space-india.org, Phone: 9250901042
Or submit reports by post to:
SPACE, Science Popularisation Association Of Communicators And Educators
WZ-19, Asalatpur, A-3 Block, Janak Puri, New Delhi - 110058.