Setting a goal for myself with Messier targets

[Kirscovitch]

The other night I was poking around in Stellarium and was thinking that I need to get more organized and structured with my imaging sessions. As to confirm it there is an article in the July Sky & Telescope about doing such a thing. Getting a plan together. Taking notes. Etc.

I am horrible at planning things and it shows in my foray into astronomy. Both on the observing end and recently into the imaging. I never actually plan anything. A usual session involves me setting up and aligning the scope and then powering up Stellarium and randomly picking a target. Part of it (I like to blame) is the view from the backyard. There a few tall trees and sometimes the target I intended on imaging would be partially blocked by a tree limb or the peak of a neighbors house. Part of my plan involves getting out more to a new dark site that I found with great wide open views of the sky.

I also am going to make a list of goals. Both short and long term. One goal I have in mind is kind of a cross between both short and long. I was going to challenge myself to image all 110 Messier images but give myself a time frame to complete it by. I know that right now there are some of the Messiers that can't be seen like M1, 42, and 45. 

So my question is what kind of time should I give myself? Would 6 months be too long? Too short? I am not going to include any images that I have already taken. I will have to go back and start over to make it fair to myself. 

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Maybe I am just being foolish. (It has happened once or twice.  )

[Paul73]

If you were trying from the UK. About 15 years to get enough breaks in the cloud......

I would give it a year and do a decent job. I set myself a year to do them visually. The first 70+ wizzed by. Then the easy targets started to dry up as the targets got lower. Should still get there.

You do have an advantage of a10° more southerly location.

Good luck.

Paul

[PeterCPC]

With our weather it would probably be impossible. 

Why put yourself under pressure to achieve a goal - why not just carry on as you are and enjoy yourself. 

When I image/observe it's just for the sheer enjoyment of it but, then, I don't get many chances!

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Peter

[ronin]

Reading the assorted posts it would seem that 2 years is about "normal" to view all the Messier objects.

You may have better weather during the late Spring/Summer/Early Autumn and so tick off more then is normal here.

However didn't you have a lot of snow over the Winter that prevented you doing much.

Also about March people in the US tend to hold Messier Marathons to bag as many as they can (not common here), seems mid/late March is a good time for them. Which as it is June is likely not the best news.

As to a plan for Messier objects the simplest I can come up with is the List of Messier Objects on Wiki.

Take the table, click the Constellation button and reorder by constellation.

Then start on the constellations one by one.

Keep the circumpolar ones until later, as they are always visible you may as well get the ones that disappear whenever they are above the horizon. Other wise you are waiting a few months for them to make an appearance.

If you can reorder the Wiki table and then save as a table in Word or whatever then you can add a column or 2 to enter some basic information.

Even if just a tick and date/time imaged.

A "full blown" plan/record look for some of the free software around to keep a record with.

Keep a paper copy of the imaging session always.

To know what is visible try this: MMP

[StuartJPP]

Because of the lack of suitably clear nights here in the UK (combination of bad weather and time off) I just plan on the day before it gets dark. Basically to see what is positioned where and what is the most appropriate target .... setting a goal and a timescale is asking for disappointment.

[Tinker1947]

A year won't be long enough, the Messiers that are low in the southern sky if you have cloudy night could come and go then its a year before there back, if it happeneds the following year well your just going have to wait again....make a list of what hard to get then when they will be viewable so you don't miss the chance.....