Charles Messier (1730-1817) was a comet hunter. During his scans of the night sky, he encountered numerous objects that initially caught his eye. However, they didn't move as comets do, so he eventually dismissed these objects as being of little interest. He began to catalog a list of these objects' locations. The list encompasses 110 objects, and include some of the most magnificent objects in the night sky.

Toward the end of March, observers in the Northern Hemisphere below about the 35th parallel have a chance to view all 110 objects in a single night. This unique viewing opportunity has become known as the Messier Marathon. (note: 6-7 days after Spring Equinox seems to be optimal for our location @ 32N).

2009 presented a very good chance for viewing all 110 objects, so I decided to attempt to image them all using my C11/Hyperstar/Canon 350D set-up. For each object, I took eight, unguided 15-second subs @ ISO 1600. The objects were framed in a piggybacked Orion ED80. Click here or on the image on the left to see the entire 110 object collage. A poster-sized print-out of the collage won the best astrophoto award at the 2009 Texas Star Party!!