Messier Marathon 2007

The 2007 Messier Marathon will perhaps be one of the last occasions to combine a nine-planet marathon with the Messier event, but Neptune will be extremely difficult if at all possible, Uranus also difficult in the morning. Some comets brighter than about mag 14.5 may be visible; we will list them below from various sources (e.g., IAU's Observable Comets page, Gary Kronk's list of current comets and the Fachgruppe Kometen list):

Comet                         RA  (2000.0)  Dec  mag  
                                  March 16, 2007      

2P/Encke                      01:07.97 +13:46.4  11.6
P/2001 Q2 (Petriew)           01:49.74 +07:05.1  12.0
C/2006 K3 (McNaught)          02:39.74 -10:15.8  14.4
29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann      03:58.60 +28:27.4  15.7  has outbursts!
4P/Faye                       04:59.69 +13:16.3  14.1
P/2006 HR30 (Siding Spring)   05:54.76 +25:27.7  13.3
P/2006 T1 (Levy)              15:00.13 -43:01.6  14.7
C/2006 L2 (McNaught)          21:40.65 +68:09.6  14.9

C/2006 P1 (McNaught)          22:55.36 -66:14.9   9.1
96P/Machholz                  23:36.88 -25:16.6  11.8

Note that occasionally comets become bright shortly (like Hyakutake in 1996, Ikeya-Zhang and Utsunomiya in 2002), so check back for possible updates shortly before Marathon date.

Also, meteors from various showers may occur, and depending on your location, you may be able to observe the International Space Station, ISS.

• The 2007 All Arizona Messier Marathon, sponsored again by the Saguaro Astronomy Club (SAC) (for the 15th time), will be held in the night of the weekend of March 17/18, 2007 at the site south of Arizona City. - A.J. Crayon & Jack Jones
  Also see SAC's 2007 All Messier Marathon announce.
• The Sociedad Astronomica Queretana (SAQ) is hosting a Messier Marathon on March 17/18, 2007 in Queretaro, about 210 km north of Mexico City, probably the only major one in central Mexico. - Juan Carrillo, SAQ
• The Arkansas Oklahoma Astronomical Society (AOAS) is sponsoring their first ever Messier Marathon on March 17/18. It will be held at their observatory outside of Fort Smith, AR. - Jon Stone, AOAS
• "Akash Mitra" from Pune (India) will be conducting the 2007 Messier Marathon on March 17-18, from Pokhri, about 125 km north of Pune. - Harshad Abhyankar.
• The Oklahoma City Astronomy Club will be hosting a Messier Marathon event on the night of March 17/18 at their new observatory site the Cheddar Ranch in rural Watonga, Oklahoma. Look at a map and weather forecast. - Jeff Thibodeau, President, OKC Astronomy Club
• 2007 BAS Messier Marathon sponsored by the Birmingham Astronomical Society of Birmingham, Alabama, will be held for the second time the night of the weekend of March 17/18, 2007 at the Chandler Mountain Observatory. Please check here for their CSC. - Ed Knight, BAS
• Sorin Hotea is organizing again this year the National Messier Marathon in Romania. He will try the marathon near his city, Sighetu-Marmatiei in 17/18 March. There is a possibility that he and his club "Astroclubul Sighet" will go on the mountains for couple of nights that period to try the marathon. He also made a new website for the 2007 event, so that every astronomer who want to participate can send him his name, location, date of marathon and other information and he'll put him on his website. - Sorin Hotea
• The Kutch Astronomy Club is going to organise second messier marathon this year 17th March 2007. This year they are planning to organise a place near Bhuj which is very dark. They are preparing to join more astronomy students in this marathon. They will watch the objects with 2 six inch reflector and one 2.5 inch refrector telescopes. - Narendra Gor, President, Kutch Astronomy Club, Bhuj
• The Bangalore Astronomical Society (BAS) of Bangalore, India is going to hold their first Messier Marathon from a site 70 km north of Bangalore at Hosahalli village where the sky is very dark but horizons are slightly obstructed. They expect a participation of 3-4 observers. The marathon is scheduled for March 17-18, 2007. Observer Amar A. Sharma is going alone for a "Double Marathon," with the second attempt scheduled for March 19-20. They will be using two 8" f/8 equatorial and one 12" f/4.5 Dobsonian scopes, together with smaller instruments. Look at their announce! - Amar A. Sharma, BAS
• The West Texas Astronomers will be having a Messier Marathon on March 17th, 2007 just south of Midland, Texas. See their forum - Eric Kounce
• The Amateur Astronomers Association of Vadodara have organised a Messier Marathon for 2007 on 17th March 2007 at village Dharoli near Bharuch Gujarat, India. This group is organizing Messier Marathon trips annually since 1997. - Bhargav Joshi
• Once again, the Astronomy Club of Tulsa and TUVA Astronomy Club will be co-hosting the annual Messier Marathon at TUVA Observatory site at Council Hill, OK, March 17-18. Those coming are urged to bring a covered dish and any snack type foods for a preliminary dinner. There will be talks and images shown from members attending prior to the marathon. As in the past the person locating the most Messier objects will win the David Stine Messier Marathon Award and will have their name added to the plaque that hangs in the TUVA classroom at the site. Rod Gallagher has won the last three years in a row but still hasn't gotten past 105. David Stines best is 100. The site has a huge open pasture next to the observatory and a 360 degree clear span from horizon to zenith. Everyone is invited. For directions, see either website. - David Stine
• The Agrupacion Astronómica de Cadiz "Hercules" (Spain) will hold 2 Messier Marathon 2007 sessions: the first on March 10th at Pantano del Celemin (Benalup-Spain), and the second on March 17th at Tavizna (Ubrique-Spain).
• The Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers will escape from the Los Angeles County city sidewalk lights and head to the Colorado Desert for another Messier, planet and comet Marathon Saturday night March 17, 2007. Our location is on +33d 40' 5.02", -115d 32' 51.83" between Chiriaco Summitt and Desert Center, CA, a spot we learned about from Messier Marathon great Don Machholz. You can use the road map on the Desert Center Clear Sky Clock for directions. The road to the right of the railroad tracks is Red Cloud Road. If you plan to join Jane and Mojo, please plan to arrive before sunset, as Red Cloud Road is a washbord dirt road. They usually set up about a mile down the road. If you plan to leave before dawn, they'll ask that you park facing the road, try to turn off all interior car lights, and announce your departure to the group well in advance. It's a huge area, with a couple of miles of flat observing space on both sides of the road. Other astronomers are often setup further down the road, and there is room for everyone. This is not a road for heavy vehicles or RV's. Last time someone brought one, it took hours for Triple A to haul it out of the soft sand. - Jane Houston Jones
• The San Jose Astronomical Association holds annual Messier Marathons. This year is holding a marathon on Friday 3/16 and Saturday 3/17. - Rob Hawley, President SJAA
• United Astronomer Clubs of New Jersey is planning its first Messier Marathon at the Jenny Jump Mountain Observatory on March 24/25. The site is about 50 miles west of New York City. See their website for directions. - Jim Norton

If you have undertaken, or participated in, a Messier Marathon, 2007 or earlier, if not already done so, please send me your or your group's results, or the link to your results page, for inclusion in our Messier Marathon Results page!

Hartmut Frommert
Christine Kronberg
[contact]

Last Modification: April 10, 2007