Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 19:44:59 -1000 From: Michael Connelley Subject: Messier Marathon Result Hello: On March 5, 2005, I attempted my second Messier Marathon, and this was the first time it was clear to sunrise. I observed with a 12.5" f/6 dobsonian, 31mm Nagler eyepiece, from the 9,300 ft. level of Mauna Kea (latitude 19d 55m). I observed 108 targets, missing M52 in the morning and M30 at sunrise. The sky was covered with scattered clouds until about 8pm, at which time M52 had set (our observing site, the Visitor Information Station, is on the south flank of the mountain, so the mountain blocks part of the norther sky). I believe that I did find the field of M30, but could not see it since the sky was so bright in that area. The observing conditions were very good, being both dark with good seeing. Views of M51 and Eta Carina were particularly impressive. It was windy, with the wind out of the west, but there is a wall around part of the observing site that can be used as a wind break with a good view of the SE horizon. The waning crescent moon made it hard to find objects in the SE near sunrise by wiping out any faint stars in the area, making M75 particularly difficult to locate. Owing to our southern latitude, the observing sequence I used was quite different than on most lists. Most notably, the globular clusters in Ophiuchus and Scorpius are visible long before anything in the summer triangle area. I finished everything in Sagittarius before going to Cygnus. Cheers Mike Connelley Member, HIlo Astronomy Club