Messier Marathon II

The new moon near the end of March is the best opportunity to take a tour through the Messier objects. At this time of year, the small slice of sky occupied by the sun is placed so that none of the 110 Messier objects are obstructed by Sol. Last year, I ran the list of Messier objects with my 10 inch reflector scope. While I was doing so, John E, a fellow club member at our local club ran the list with his large binoculars. We each saw almost all the objects

When I experienced the Couch Potato Telescope (CPT) rotating support for binoculars at the Texas Star Party in April 2009, the concept of observing all the Messier objects with binoculars began to grow on me. I built a CPT from a kit the same weekend that I came home from the TSP. Then, this last fall, I purchased a large binocular. The Celestron 20x80 pair was stable and easy to handle on the CPT. The plan was coming together.

This last weekend, Diane and I joined friends at Ft McKavett, north of Junction, Texas for a weekend of astronomy. It had been a dreary week, but as the weekend drew closer, the weather cleared after a cool front passed.

So, after a year of thinking, building, and dreaming about a Binocular Messier Marathon, it came to me sitting in my CPT on a cloudless evening about 130 miles away from the nearest large city.

The evening stars began to pop out of the darkening sky. Mars was first to make an appearance. Then Sirius, Rigel, and Betelgeuse. Before long, the guide stars of the western horizon became visible. Cassiopeia made her appearance in the northwest, and then the pointer stars of Andromeda. Finding M31 was easy, but M110 was not yet visible. I could not yet see M33 or any sign of the more difficult M74 and M77.

I swung the chair toward Orion and plucked the two objects from his sword and one from just above his belt. Yep! even that blush of nebula above Alnitak was now visible as the sky darkened.

Before I forgot it (again) I swung by the Pleiades and enjoyed the placement of that cluster in my binocular.

A check of M74 and M77 again revealed nothing. I rotated the chair further north and looked again at M31. AhHa! M32 was clearly visible now. And even M110 was now visible. M33 shone as a ghost out of the darkening sky as well. Overhead, the Milky Way was beginning to be visible.

I knew where M74 and M77 should be, and their locations were drawing closer and closer to the horizon. Fortunately, the sunset horizon was flat and unobstructed. A quick check of M77's location was fruitless. Same for M74. I went back to M77's nest and looked at my charts again. I gently tapped my binocular to see if I could use motion and non-central vision to catch a glimpse of the object. Yes! is that it? Yep! It sure is. M77 is in the bag.

Now back to the M74 location. Not there. How about scanning left and right and coming back? Do I see it? Hmm. Maybe. Come on - its not for sure. Scan back to M110 and M33. Then back to M74's location. [I am remembering that M74 was the only object I was not able to identify last year.] What! I think that IS it. Quick! Scan away... then back. It is there! Good! Great! M74 is in the bag.

OK. The hard evening objects are done. Now begins the more leisurely approach to the objects in CAS, PER, AUR, GEM, and the rest of the first shift of objects. Then it is time to get up from the chair and see how Diane is doing with our 16 inch Looking Glass. She seems to be having a ball. Good. Others on the observing star field are having fun. At least three other friends are trying to make something of a Messier Marathon. They are doing well too.

Then after a drink of water, its back into the chair. Leo has risen far enough, and the sun has dropped into the night deeply enough, to attempt the Leo galaxies. The Zodiacal light shines all too bright all the way to the zenith, making it harder to see the really dim fuzzies. The two groups of Leo galaxies are spotted and bagged. The obvious clusters in Cancer are also remembered. (I forgot the Beehive one night!) Rotating my chair toward the big Dipper, the larger group of Messier galaxies in and about UMA are found one (or two) at a time.

It is finally time for bed and a nap at about 1030 PM. Everything that is reasonable has been tagged. Spica is just up over the eastern horizon and the Virgo cluster of galaxies is too low to work on right now.

At 1230 AM, I am up. It is getting cold, but there is still not a cloud in the sky and the slight breeze is keeping dew from forming. I wrap up tightly, put a hand warmer in each pocket, and go out to work my way through the torturous path of the Virgo cluster. I warm up on the two outliers to the east of the main cluster and then enter from the tail end of Leo.

The work I have done this year with my 16 inch scope on the Herschel list really pays off now! Last year, I might not have been able to see these faint blushes of stardust that make up some of the Virgo cluster Messier objects. I know that there are many other objects in here that I can see with more aperture, but with my binocular I am nearly at my limit for some of the galaxies. However, I am able to walk my way from galaxy to galaxy by using my chart and the stability that the CPT gives me. It is really nice to have the binocular pointed at a galaxy and be able to drop my eyes to a chart and then go back to the same spot in the sky!

After an hour of observing, I have gotten through the newly available objects and go back to bed for another two hour nap.

All too soon, it is 330 AM. The early morning objects are coming into view. To top of Scorpius is poking its head out of the horizon. M4 is visible. The swan and the lyre are up. 45 minutes of chilly observing lets me go back to bed to warm up next to Diane for another hour.

Then it is 5 o'clock. I put a hand warmer in each sock and wear gloves with a hand warmer in each palm. Sagittarius is fully up and the full trail of objects in the steam of the Milky way is visible. The little globulars in the base of the teapot are not much more than star sized points, but at least the horizon is free of clouds and the dew is being kept away by the cold breeze.

I find the kite of Terabellium 1 and 2 that allows me to find M55 and M75. M72 and M73 are finally seen. The remainder of the Morning objects come into view and are seen as I move my chair a little further out into the field to bring the horizon down a little.

Finally, I find myself looking exactly at the right spot to see M30, the last of the Messier object to see for the night. The sun is brightening the eastern sky by the moment. Hope is lost. It will not be seen. The Marathon began a little too easily with the evening objects too high in the sky to make the last morning object visible.

A sense of accomplishment washes over me. I really did quite well in this binocular marathon. 109 is not shabby at all! Along the line I saw Venus, Saturn, Mars, and the very very old moon with lots of earth shine. I shared the starfield with friends and had a good time with my wife as she observed a lot of the sky on her own.

But, as the sun began to rise ever more strongly, it was time to lie down for a nap until breakfast!