Well, the forecast indicated that the skies would be clear, and they were spot on the money for once. Had the scope outside, collimated and cooling down whilst I sat in the garden enjoying a coffee and watching the clear sky. This was a novelty after a couple of months of very poor skies.

Armed with the Messier Marathon field guide and a clear sky, I set about my nights hunt for Messier objects. To begin with, a wander in and around Ursa Major was called for. M106 and M97 were the first of the nights haul of new objects. These were closely followed by M108. Then a quick hop over to Canes Venatici for M63 and M94. Next was a hop to Cancer and M44 and M67. I think M44, the Beehive cluster was the gem of the night.

Then it was a return to Ursa Major and M51, followed by M101 at long last. As I was following the Messier marathon list, I had a diversion over to Draco for a look at the alternative M102.

With my Nemesis, M101 in the bag, it was off to Coma Berenices and M64, M85, M3 and M53. Then off to Leo for M95, M96, M105, M65 and M66. Then it was off to Virgo, and the motherlode of Messiers! M61, M49, M58, M59, M60, M84, M86, M87 and M88. By this time, it was about 3am and I had begun to feel in need of defrosting.

So, I packed up and headed inside with a total of 28 new Messier objects in one evening. And the prospect of completing the remaining Virgo objects as soon as the weather improves.

Dave.