Messier Marathon 2009

All avocations have their odd events. Scuba divers have been known to carve pumpkins underwater, skydivers attempt in-sky formation linkups, ham radio operators race around on fox hunts. These things are not done for any particular reason other than as a challenge, testing one's skills, and they can be fun.

For amateur astronomers there is the Messier Marathon, the attempt to see all 110 objects on Charles Messier's famous deep sky catalog in a single night. Due to the position of these objects in the sky and the position of the Sun this odd exercise must be done in a particular season, the last weeks of March or the first week of April. Timing is further influenced by the phase of the Moon, only a dark sky makes finding all the objects possible. Both Deb and I have done this before, I have five previous marathons experience, including a perfect 110 score in 2001. Deb has also marathoned before, joining me for the 2006 All Arizona Messier Marathon and scoring a respectable 106.

This year's Messier Marathon here on the Big Island was sponsored by the Mauna Kea VIS. The visitor center stayed open all night allowing for warmup sessions inside while waiting out the clouds and a continual supply of hot water for hot coco and instant soups. The parking lot was barricaded off to allow observers to view the night free of vehicle headlights and to provide room for more telescopes.

A delicate and very slim crescent moon was visible at sunset just above the western ridge. A stunning sight in the several telescopes that slewed over to view the Moon before it set. As the crescent descended it passed through the branches of old mamane trees providing a truly sublime scene in the eyepiece.

Our attempt at a marathon did not start off well. We were prevented from getting several of the evening objects by the site itself. A low ridge of old cinder cones (pu'u) block the western horizon. This prevented sighting of M31, M32, M110, M33, M74 and M52. Deb missed M77 as a small cloud drifted into the wrong bit of sky before she had a chance to sight it. Even with a perfect run for the rest of the night the maximum score possible was now 104 out of 110.

Clouds were the issue, several times through the night a solid layer of high clouds blocked the sky. The reality proved to be better than the forecast predicted. While the sky was completely blocked at times, most of the night there was some part of the sky available for viewing with the evening and dawn hours almost completely clear. This made waiting for the clouds to clear worth while and allowed the marathon to be completed. The evening hours were particularly valuable, those visitors who dared the mountian were treated to a nice show in the evening, with a good star show featuring a beautiful sky. Telescopes jumped from Saturn to the Pleiades, to the Orion nebula as visitors were treated to the wonders of a dark sky.

The clear hours of evening were enjoyed by all, the amateurs who brought up their own telescopes and the crowd of visitors to the VIS up to enjoy the mountian. People wandered from telescope to telescope to enjoy the views. This crowd thinned quickly, as those who were not prepared for the cold vanished into the night. After ten the night was left to those who planned to stay for the dawn, hoping to enjoy a good night of observing.

The telescope I used was my veteran marathon instrument, the 6" f/5 newtonian I have used for many past marathons. The simple to use, wide field instrument makes hunting down M's easy. With a 3°field all you have to do is point in roughly the right direction to see what you are looking for. Sweeping the sky with the wide field is an experience in beauty, thousands of stars fill the field. The view of exceptional fields like M46/M47 or M8/M20/M21 are cause to stop the rush and enjoy the view for a few minutes.

It was cold. It seems odd to be on a "tropical" island and bundled up with several layers of jacket, ski pants, gloves and hat. For the first half of the night a steady breeze added to the frigid night. The thermometer on the VIS wall plunged to below freezing. A benefit was the complete lack of dew that can sometimes plague the site, the cold air was also quite dry. A while after midnight the breeze faded away helping tremendously. The heavy clothing did work, I stayed comfortable all night. Deb did get a bit chilled, but did not let that slow her down.

When the clouds cleared in the dawn exposing the glory of the Milky Way through Scorpio and Sagittarius it was time for the final push. The many Messier objects through this region are old favorites, a dozen objects scooped up in minutes with seldom a look at the charts. Nebula Row, featuring the spectacular Lagoon Nebula, Swan Nebula and more it one of the treats of a Messier Marathon. Throughout the region, the thick star fields studded with nebulae and star clusters are always enjoyable. Jumping from open to globular clusters across Sagittarius the marathon proceeded rapidly.

At the end Deb was frustrated by the VIS building itself. M30 was rising directly behind it from where the 11" was set up. She could not just move the telescope as I could when needed. It took several minutes to move the entire telescope, perform the realignment exercise and then swing to the object, all while the eastern sky rapidly brightened in the dawn. But she did get it done, and when she looked the globular cluster was clearly visible in the eyepiece.

With the fairly southern latitude of 20°N the morning objects become fairly easy, they rise higher in the dawn making the last part of the marathon easier for us than for observers further north. It was the evening objects that created the trouble. The M31/M32/M100 group does not rise again, allowing a second chance at these troublesome galaxies. The ideal timing for a marathon here in Hawai'i is 1-2 weeks earlier than events on the mainland US. Look for a new Moon around the 15th or 20th instead of nearer the end of the month. Our location was also a handicap, the small ridge of pu'us just to the west blocking the horizon. If we do this again another possible answer would be to carry a portable telescope over to the small pu'u just southwest of the VIS. There is a road and a short trail to where sunset watchers enjoy an unobstructed view of the western horizon. From there the evening objects should be easily locatable.

As the night progressed the crowd dwindled to a few diehards, the cold and clouds taking their toll. There were only ten of us that greeted the dawn skies, Dayana Cardoso, Njugu Gachigu, Joe Hannan, Frosty Hughes, Clifford Livermore, Callie McNew, Ricky Ormiston, Nathan Secrest, as well as Deb and myself. The telescopes continued to operate until the sky became too bright to see anything but Jupiter and Mars rising in the dawn. Cliff's 24" and Deb's NexStar 11" providing nice views of Jovian clouds and moons. Mars was too low to the horizon to see anything but an orange ball distorted by atmospheric seeing into a dancing, multicolored light show.

Both deb and I achieved respectable scores, 103 for her, 104 for myself, the difference being M77, a galaxy I have some experience in hunting down under marathon conditions but had disappeared behind the pu'u before she had a chance to nail it. In any case it was a fun night, despite cold and clouds we enjoyed the challenge of following in the footsteps of that pioneering astronomer, Charles Messier.