The RASC Calgary Centre 2005 Messier Marathon

By: Tom Cameron, Observers Group Chairman

Page last updated: December 17, 2007

Messier poster available from SEDS

M42 - The Great Orion Nebula
by John Mirtle, Calgary

General Information

Charles Messier (June 26, 1730 - April 12, 1817) was the greatest comet hunter of his time. In 1744 he was deeply influenced by the appearance of a bright comet. In his 20's he became a skilled observer and was assigned the task of looking for a comet which was predicted decades earlier by English astronomer, Edmund Halley to return to the skies above Europe in 1758. Messier succeeded in finding Halley's comet on the night of January 21, 1759 from Paris, but he had not been the first to see the return - Johann Palitzsch, a German farmer, had spotted the comet from his fields on Christmas night, 1758 just a few weeks earlier. Messier finally discovered his first comet one year later in January 1760. Of the 14 comets discovered between 1760 and 1773, eight were found by Messier. Charles Messier would be credited with the discovery, or co-discovery, of 13 comets over the course of his career. He advanced to be heralded as the greatest comet hunter of his generation.

However, Messier occasionally ran across objects that looked like comets but were subsequently disproven. He published three catalogs describing and giving positions for 103 objects that comet hunters should "ignore". These 103 star clusters, nebulae and galaxies comprise the bulk of the modern "Messier Catalog". Seven additional entries have been added over the years, bringing the total to 110.

The Messier Marathon

Yes, it's that time of the year again for a different type of observing run. Detailed and painstaking observing is thrown out in favour of quantity, speed and sheer numbers! As it happens, the distribution of Messier objects in the sky is not uniform. There is a 'hole' in their distribution, where the sun is positioned every spring. This means that for a period of a few weeks, it is theoretically possible to observe all of the 110 Messier objects in one night. From Calgary's northern latitude this isn't really possible, but over 100 of the objects can be scooped up in a single session.

The Observer's Group of the Calgary Centre has been coordinating a Messier marathon for about 11 years now. Most marathons have had clear to mostly clear conditions, resulting in many happy but exhausted marathoners.

The Event

The date for this year's observing binge is set for:

April 2nd, 2005
if April 2 is clouded out we could try again on the night of the regular Observer's Group Meeting April 9

Timing:

The event starts at dusk, so arrive, park, and set up early so you can catch those elusive western Messiers after sunset.
Please ensure that you have all white lights on your vehicle (headlights, interior lights, backup lights) turned off in case you have to leave early.

Location:

The Calgary Centre's Wilson Coulee Observatory

The Observing Forms

'Official' observing forms are provided at the Wilson Coulee Observatory. Fill in the time you observed the object, check it off and move swiftly to the next. The forms have the objects listed in the order that they set, we recommend that they are observed roughly in the order presented. When you have had your fill, drop off your form with Observing Chair, Tom Cameron. A handsome certificate will be presented at one of the following Observing Group meetings to commemorate the event.

Links

If you want to get a sneak peek of the observing forms, or to get a better feeling for what this event is all about, Stephen Tonkin has some excellent links on his web site.