Brigada's Messier Marathon 2007 Guide

Compiled by Doug Lucas, Editor of Brigada
With help from contributors

(Click here to go to the home page of Brigada Today, a weekly e-zine about cross-cultural mission work edited by Doug Lucas; Thanks to Brigada for hosting this page)

Note: This page has precious little to do with Brigada's normal fare . . . except for the fact that I love stargazing. :-) And that's one of the advantages of being the Editor: I get to pick a couple of features just for fun! :-)

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Table of Contents:

1) Online Catalogues & Showcases of the 110 Objects

2) Helps, Tips, Tricks, Software

3) Reports from Previous Marathons (Use these to help plan your sequence)

4) Messier Marathon Books

1) Online Catalogues & Showcases of the 110 Objects

• Astrosurf Gallery of Marathon objects -- http://www.astrosurf.com/jwisn/list.htm -- This is a great place to get one's bearings & see the big picture. Shows thumbnail sketches of all 110 objects in the Messier catalogue.
• Jason's online Messier Catalogue -- http://pages.sssnet.com/starman444/astronomy/catalogue/Catalogue%20Index.html -- He's done a fairly good job of listing a lot of information in a very useable format. Be sure to see the menu at the bottom of each index page, so you can see the full list. No pictures of the objects.
• J Burnell's Photo Pages -- http://www.jburnell.com/Messier.html -- A great table-oriented Messier chart that with multiple pictures (all good) and extensive well-organized descriptions. Could very well be one of the best collection of amateur astronomy photography. Amazing that he gets this much out of amateur equipment.
   

2) Sites offering Helps, Tips, Tricks, Software

• Messier Marathon Site -- http://www.messiermarathon.com/about.htm -- These folks bought the domain, but their site isn't quite as graphical as some of the others.
• Tips on Participating in the Messier Marathon -- http://www.astronomical.org/astbook/messier1.htm -- This page by the Peoria Astronomical society gives some basic tips that will help us plan our course of action.
• Preparing for a Messier Marathon -- http://members.aol.com/billferris/marathon4.html -- Bill Ferris gives advice, especially for newbies.
• Birmingham Astronomical Society Marathon 2007 -- http://www.bas-astro.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=247&Itemid=151 -- This is the site where Doug will try the marathon in 2007.
• SEDS Marathon page -- http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/marathon/marathon.html -- Here you can submit your marathon parties, as well as your results. Kind of a headquarters page for the event.
• Photographic Messier Marathon -- http://www.3towers.com/Marathon.htm -- Tim Hunter and Dan Knauss put together this page to chronicle their 1988 results. The objects haven't changed all that much since then. :-)
• Free Messier Marathon Tracking & Logging software -- http://www.davidpaulgreen.com/download.html -- This looks like a great program (especially for the price :-) ), that's available both for Windows and for MAC.

3) Reports from Previous Marathons (Use these to help plan your sequence)

• Jan Wisniewski's 2000 Marathon report -- http://www.astrosurf.com/jwisn/marathon.htm -- Great report from Kingston Centre. A bit text-oriented description, but with good pictures.
• Jan 2002 Marathon report -- http://www.astrosurf.com/jwisn/mm2002.htm -- Seems easier to grasp with the chart he provided this time around.
• Jan's 2003 Marathon report -- http://www.astrosurf.com/jwisn/mm2003.htm -- Jan's best report yet. This is a great example sequence, too.

4) Messier Marathon Books

• Year-Round Messier Marathon Field Guide by Pennington, 8.50" by 11.00", Published 1997, 194 pages, hardbound, published 1997, 2 Lb. 12 Ozs. ship wt., $24.95. Buy it at Amazon. -- Some say this is the best book for marathoners. Covers all there is to know about planning, preparing for, and running a Messier Marathon. Includes sequences not only for main marathon, but also for mini-marathons every month of the year. Complete with star charts, telrad circles, and special helps for locating objects.
• The Observing Guide to the Messier Marathon: A Handbook and Atlas (Hardcover) by Don Machholz. Buy it at Amazon. -- Formerly The Messier Marathon Observer's Guide, it includes more background about the man, Messier, than Pennington's book. Good for getting a history of the marathon concept.
• Astronomy Hacks: Tips & Tools for Observing the Night Sky, by Robert Bruce Thompson and Bararbara Fritchman Thompson. Buy it at Amazon. -- Handy guide for learning the basics of observing, tweaking, tuning, and tricking a scope. Has a good section on running a marathon, including a personal anecdotal report on the author's experience with a M.M. Also covers hundreds of other tips.

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