Messier Marathon 2007

(This article originally appeared in the Q1 2007 STAR Newsletter and was written by Brian Reasor. -I)

Messier Marathon 2007
by Brian Reasor

Thanks to all who came out for the RAC 2007 Messier Marathon at Howell Woods. Everyone seemed to enjoy the event. Skies were clear, although seeing suffered some due to wind, and it got down to about freezing overnight.

We had, by my count, 16 people and maybe a few more who showed up after dark. Most stayed til midnight and we still had a decent crowd at 2am. 6 of us – me, Ian Hewitt, Jon Messick, Pat Moore, Dan Lamson and Darice Frey stayed til sunrise in order to “run” a full marathon. Ian and Pat (and I think Jon) had over a 100 Messier objects logged. Dan, Darice and I had in the 90’s. I had 96 objects logged and missed M74, M33, M110, M52, M76, M98, M102, M55, M75, M15, M2, M72, M73 and M30. Others who stayed out late were doing “half” marathons and seeing what they could before packing it in for the night.

Thanks to the Club officers for gaining access to the educational building. It got a lot of use after midnight to fight off the cold. We used the kitchen to cook food and make coffee and hot chocolate.

All in all the 2007 Messier Marathon went well and I hope we can do this again next year.