A Run Down of the Marathon
By Shawn Grant
This is a run down of the marathon so you know what to expect. We will go through the list and the timing. This will give you an idea of what time you should be through with an object. First be very sure to arrive at least a half an hour before sunset. This year the sun sets at 18:50 so arrive at 18:30. Use this time to set up and collimate your telescope. Organize your charts and make sure your flash light batteries work. You should always bring extra batteries. Get your bearings, figure out where the cardinal directions are.
It is 19:00 and the sun has set but it is still too light to see anything. Relax and enjoy the sunset. Grab a bite to eat before you start. In about 10 to 15 minutes Saturn will begin to show itself. Use Saturn to align your finder scope and or telrad. Half-hour after sunset you will begin to see a few stars. At this time things are very rushed. First object on the list is M45. It isn't the closest to the horizon but it is the first object you can see. Be sure to hit this one first. Next go for M31, 32, and 110. If it is still to light to see them wait a little bit but not to long. 19:30 head for M33, M77 and M74. M74 is the hardest Messier object to spot even near the zenith at a dark site. Tonight it is just 7.4 degrees above the horizon. Don't spend a lot of time on this one you may miss many others. It is hard and you may miss it but that is fine. You can't get them all, but all means try. 19:45 I hope you got M74 if you already got M33 and M77 try M74 again. If not bag M52, M103 and M76. The first 10 objects are critical and you are very rushed to find them. You should find the first 10 by 20:10.
Things are now a little more relaxed and will get slower until the morning rush. M34 and M79 are your next objects. At 20:15 go for the Orion objects. M42, M43, M78 also get M41 in Canis Major. You may see a pattern, 4 objects in 15 minutes. This is a marathon and it is fairly easy to bag 4 in 15 minutes. 20:30 it is time for M1 and the three grand open clusters in Auriga M38, M36 and M37. 21:00 is Puppis time. Head for M93 the bowtie cluster, I prefer to call it the Chevy cluster and M46, M47 and M50. By 21:30 you should be finished with the winter messier objects. The last four of these are M35, M48, M67 and M44. Things are a little more relaxed now. The spring objects are near the zenith and rising from the east. The Leo galaxies are first on the list M95, M96, M105, M65 and M66. These are all real easy objects to find and should only take 15 minutes. The four messiers in western Big Dipper M82, M81, M108 and M97 are next. It is 22:00 now and we head for the eastern portion of the Big Dipper. M109, M40 and M101 are next. M40 is debated as a messier object. It is the 9.6 magnitude double star SAO 28353. M102 and M51 are next. We will have fewer objects now because things are not as rushed. Also M102 can be tricky to find and can take 15 minutes to find for some. It is 22:30 and it is time to get three galaxies in Canis Venatici M106, M63 and M94. Now it is time for M3 and M53. We will be locating objects around the Virgo cluster first before plunging into the heart of the Virgo cluster. Go for M64, M68, M104, M61 and M49. It is 23:15 to 23:30 depending on your speed. It is time for heartbreak hill also known as the Virgo Cluster. This is the hardest part and the most time consuming of the marathon. Take your time and be sure to use very detailed charts. The objects to find are M60, M59, M58, M89, M90, M87, M86, M84, M91, M88, M99, M98, M100, and M85. The cluster should take an hour or so to complete. Now that you have completed it there is a break period.
There is time for a two to two and a half hour break. The faster few may have a three-hour break. Use this time to eat a bite and take a nap. Set your alarm clocks to 2:30. The first objects to find are M83 and M5. These objects can be hard and will take 15 minutes to find. 2:45 head for the globulars in Hercules M13 and M92. Spend only five minutes on these two. Bag the three globulars in the mid section of Ophiuchus M10, M12 and M 14. You should be done with these by 3:00. M107, M4 and M80 are next. Try to spend about 10 minutes on the three. Next are M62, M19 and M9 and then quickly grab M6 and M7. At 3:30 head for M57, M56, M39 and M29. Next are M27, M71, M11 and M26. It should be 4:00 and we are down to the wire and it is time to rush. The Sun will rise in a little over two hours. Hit the Sagittarius objects now. Many of these objects are very easy to find and close together. Try to spend only 30 minutes to find these objects. M16, M17, M18, M24, M25, M23, M21, M20, M8, M28 and M22. Southern Sagittarius has five globulars, M69, M70, M54, M55 and M75. This should take 20 minutes. Next find M15 and M2. When you finished finding M15 and M2 it should be 5:00. Now go for M72 and M73. This isn't very rushed you have half an hour or so to find these. Remember M73 is an asterism of four stars. M30 is the last object on the list and the hardest. Most people do not get this one because it is close to the sun's glare. By 5:30 it is 8.5 degrees from the horizon and you can already see the sky brightening.
The sun has risen and it is time to head for the Waffle House then home for bed. The Marathon seems to be fast pasted but an experienced star hopper will have no problem keeping up with the schedule and maybe ahead. There is some leeway for slower star hoppers to complete the list also. Many of us won't be able to complete the list due to fatigue or other reasons. Don't feel bad it isn't about bagging 110 objects in one night it is about having fun trying.
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