Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 00:41:32 EST
From: Don Machholz
Subject: Don Machholz's 2003 Messier Marathon

Greetings Hartmut;

I hope this finds all well.

For years I'll been intrigued by your web site's challenge to find all the 
Messier Objects by memory.  I attempted that this year and found 108, being 
clouded out on two.  Below is a short report on it, I'll write a more full 
report within a week.

My trip to S. CA. for the Marathon did not materialize, but I tried it here.  
On Friday I was clouded out, but on Saturday night, March 29 I found 108, 
missing only M72 and M73 due to clouds covering them at the time.  I used my 
6" reflector and started 12 miles north of my house at Dutch Flat, which has 
a low W horizon.  I came home for some more objects totaling 69 by 10PM, 
slept until 2, then got up and did ~35 more from my home.  For the final few 
I drove to a hilltop on the other side of Colfax, which has a low E horizon.

For this Marathon I used no maps, charts or lists.  I found each from memory 
and wrote the M number on a blank sheet of paper until I had 108 (I missed 
M72, 73).  I had practiced for this for some months now and it really wasn't 
that difficult.  I suggest that others can do this too.

I hope to go to S. CA next year (around March 24) and do all 110 from memory 
(hopefully the sky will be clear).  Should be fun.

Take care and the very best to you.

Don Machholz