Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 21:34:57 -0700
From: Andrew Cooper 
To: spider
Subject: Marathon Results

A copy of my message on the AZ-observing mailing list, results in the first
paragraph, read the rest if you want to...

Being one of those scared off by the clouds Saturday I decided to go out
Tuesday night and sleep away my Wednesday.  I had a day that needed to be used
up at work anyway.  I saw no use in going out if I couldn't beat my old record
of 106.  Success, I pushed it to 108!!  Of course this being a second run, and
having completed my AL messier certificate in the meantime helped a great deal.

I arrived at Empire Ranch with the 6" RFT, leaving the larger glass at home.
Besides a marathon is a wonderful excuse to use this completely handmade scope
that is so near and dear to my heart.  M74 was already set when the first
stars appeared, M77 was a #?!%#!!, but I got it, less than 10 degrees from the
horizon.  M33 was lost in the sunset and M32 and 110 were not visible around
the barely there fuzz of M31.  Many thanks to Steve, who in his report
reminded me of the fact that M31 rises again well before dawn, I was ready and
waiting for it to cross the horizon.  In the end only M74 and M33 escaped me,
M33 hurts as I know it well.

All in all a very enjoyable night, done with Virgo before 2300, and plenty of
time to use the RFT to sweep the milky-way while waiting for more objects to
rise.    While waiting for M30 I repeated many of the objects.  All objects of
any doubts were re-confirmed as they rose further from the horizon.  Try Eric
Karkoschka's book, with it's wonderful detailed finder charts of all the
messier objects in a neat small package, I keep my copy in my observing
notebook.  This worked especially well in Virgo.

The wonderful sounds of the desert at night, coyotes howling, owls hooting in
the night, the crunching of a gravel road as a dozen illegals walk by. No
Kidding!  They probably never knew I was there, about 50yds off the road.  INS
was all over the highway, I let them know the group was headed up Cienega
Creek on my way out.

An excellent night!


--

Andrew Cooper
VP Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association
Tucson, AZ
http://whitethorn.house.home.att.net