Each spring it becomes possible—for only a few short weeks, and only if the Moon is down and the skies are clear—to go on a “Messier marathon.”
A legendary quest among stargazers and amateur astronomers, the attempt to observe the 110 “best” star clusters, nebulae and galaxies visible from the northern hemisphere proves elusive to most.
That’s exactly what Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona is attempting this weekend—and it’s sharing its epic views of the universe with the world at large via YouTube.
The so-called “Messier marathon” is named after 18th century French astronomer and comet-hunter Charles Messier, who produced a catalogue of everything he could see in the night sky that definitely wasn’t a comet.
It was designed only to help him prevent mis-identifying a new comet, but the Messier Catalog has remained as an index of some of the best “faint fuzzies” in the night sky—namely bright star clusters, nebulae and galaxies.
Most of the 100 objects are best seen through a telescope—and as big as telescope as possible—and from mid-March to early April in the northern hemisphere it can be possible to see them all in one single night’s observing.
Cue a 14-inch PlaneWave telescope and Mallincam video camera, which will be trained on the 100 objects during the night of Friday, March 11, 2022.
The event includes a live star party for observatory guests and members from 6:30 - 10 p.m. MST (8:30-10:00 p.m. EST), as well as a free, virtual component from 6:30 p.m. through 6:00 a.m. the following morning (8:30 p.m.-8:00 a.m).
This is the third year in a row that Lowell Observatory has staged a Messier marathon.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
