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How Messy are you?

Andrew*

By Andrew*
in Observing - Discussion

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Casus belli

Casus belli

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How many? I dont know. Ermm 30, no 36 no no 47 no damnit it! I've done over 1200 Messier objects :) I've also had slightly more than one beer tonight (Holidays :hello1:)

Looking around my computer desk I have 3 books on astronomy and bits of paper lying everywhere with things like "m81+2 dustlane!! written on them. I honestly doubt I'll ever have a catalogue of objects named after me. :wink:

I blame beer.

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Johnny Jupiter

Johnny Jupiter

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Can I add my pennyworth to this, I like the Messier objects and i think I've seen more than half (just) so far and the real challengers are the galaxies in the Virgo/coma area! My favourite is without doubt M6 the butterfly cluster in Scorpius and only seen when I go abroad in late summer. M78 is a challenge and I've managed to see it a couple of times. John

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Andrew*

Andrew*

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Can I add my pennyworth to this, I like the Messier objects and i think I've seen more than half (just) so far and the real challengers are the galaxies in the Virgo/coma area! My favourite is without doubt M6 the butterfly cluster in Scorpius and only seen when I go abroad in late summer. M78 is a challenge and I've managed to see it a couple of times. John

wow! I feel really good now! :afro:

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thing

thing

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I have to photo my M's to see most of them as the LP is so bad here. At least I know I was pointing in the right direction........although M40 which is fairly high here at the moment always eludes me, for a double it's a bit difficult to spot.

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Astroman

Astroman

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Sorry, LB, but I think it may have more to do with your proximity to the pole than my chunk-o-glass. :D

And M40 isn't much to see from pristine skies anyway, so you're not missing much. :afro: Sometimes, I think I may imagine seeing a small amount of nebulosity around the pair, if I have another sip or two...

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Naz

Naz

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Sorry, LB, but I think it may have more to do with your proximity to the pole than my chunk-o-glass. :(

And M40 isn't much to see from pristine skies anyway, so you're not missing much. :afro: Sometimes, I think I may imagine seeing a small amount of nebulosity around the pair, if I have another sip or two...

And that bit of water that keeps us apart, you keep sending your grotty weather over the pond, that's why you have clear skies :(

I am still full of :D :D :):(

naz

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Astroman

Astroman

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I was thinking of this thread the other day and, just for fun, decided to count how many M's I could locate from memory. I took out an old list from a marathon and started counting. Came up with 65 I could do without consulting charts or setting circles. That didn't include the Virgo Cluster, because I star hop through there anyway. I doubt I could identify one from another, with certain exceptions, given their proximity.

Then, I looked at the list I was using, and it turned out to be the one we hit all 110 objects in 2001! After that, I cringed at navigating the Virgo Cluster with the 20". All those faint blobs in the C8 will be resolvable in the 20". I may fall in and never return! Help! :afro:

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Talitha

Talitha

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After that, I cringed at navigating the Virgo Cluster with the 20". All those faint blobs in the C8 will be resolvable in the 20". I may fall in and never return! Help! :afro:

Nah, you'll be fine.

Just use a deep violet filter and head for the brightest spots. :laughing5:

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astroeddie

astroeddie

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Guys,

In the late 90's whilst at sea NORTH of Scotland, I nabbed 87 Messiers in one night using my pair of 15x70 binos.

Also, the Zodiacal light and the comet Ikea Zhang. A couple of planets.

Alas, I submitted my observations not keeping a copy. NO PC or laptop then.

To me the fun of the Messier dash, is infact, hunting them down via star hops. Yes, I do now own a C11 GoTo, but star hopping was fun.

I've never seen M83 from the UK, due to its very low southern declination. I have seen it numerous times whilst on my ocean bound voyages. I always take a pair of binos. My next project .....

The Herschel 400.

Great thread ..... Eddie H

PS ..... My C11 has been repaired and is awaiting delivery. Had to go back to the states.

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Astroman

Astroman

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Good work, Eddie! Reminds me of Brian Skiff running the marathon with his 60mm refractor-he got 104, I think. Don Machholtz, one of the founders, runs it with a 6" Dob and no charts, no setting circles, no alt/az markings and from memory. I only use setting circles when I get stumped and for the harder ones, and I star hop through Virgo with a chart.

No GOTO, but that's a whole other thread. :rolleyes:

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acey

acey

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My next project .....

The Herschel 400.

Good luck with it, Eddie. I started a few years ago and haven't finished yet - I'm past the 300 mark though (I think!).

I've seen all the Messiers, but never with a single instrument from a single site (not necessarily on a single night!). That's on my "to do" list.

Andrew

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acey

acey

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A very good post-Messier, pre-Caldwell list is this from Royal Astro Soc of Canada:

http://ftp.seds.org/messier/xtra/similar/rasc-ngc.html

I did it before the Caldwells and Herschels, and preferred it to Caldwell (some of the best objects appear in all three lists). And of course you can't see all the Caldwells unless you go south - I had to stop somewhere around 80, I think, having done as much as I could from the Canaries with binos.

Andrew

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astroeddie

astroeddie

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Yeah,

I've spent many hours on the deck under ink black skies with my :rolleyes: usually just scan around when down south, but have attempted to navigate properly. The nebulae and Milky Way around the Sagittarius/Scorpius region is awesome. Lots of Messiers/NGC's there alone. My best view of that region was in Mare Harbour in the Falklands.

You need to be a bit farther south than the Uk to stand a good chance of grabbing all Messiers on the marathon. Those southern declined ones are very hard to say the least. The Herschell 400 will not be a one nighter of course. :)

Before I digress from this thread I'll stop.

TTFN .... Eddie

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Talitha

Talitha

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My next project .....

The Herschel 400.

Eddie, did you know there are two Herschel 400 lists? :rolleyes:

Although all 800 objects weren't do-able with my 8" SCT, I learned a lot and had loads of fun during the 4 years it took to work through the combined lists.

Best of luck! :)

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