Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 13:16:13 -0500
From: Robert Bruce Thompson
Subject: Winston-Salem Astronomical League 2003 Messier Marathon Results


The Winston-Salem Astronomical League held its First Annual Messier 
Marathon on the night of 1/2 April 2003 at the Wake Forest University 
Lodge, a private facility on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Fancy Gap, 
Virginia at 3,000 feet elevation. Members Steve Childers, Paul Jones, 
and Robert Thompson participated.

Except for sporadic winds that occasionally gusted as high as 20 MPH, 
conditions were nearly perfect. The temperatures fell from about 55d F 
at dusk to perhaps 45d F near dawn. Humidity was low all night, and we 
experienced no dewing problems. Clouds were 0/10 all night, and 
transparency was very good.

Childers used his 10" Orion XT10 Dob as his primary instrument, with 
27mm Panoptic and 14mm and 10.5mm Pentax XL eyepieces. Jones used his 8" 
Celestron SCT with 32mm Tele Vue Ploessl and 14mm Pentax XL eyepieces. 
Thompson used his 10" Orion XT10 Dob with 40mm and 14mm Pentax XL 
eyepieces. The final scores were as follows:

Jones - 110 objects (missed none)

Thompson - 108 objects (missed M74 evening and M30 morning)

Childers - 100 objects (missed M74, 77, 33, 76, 79, 32, and 110 evening; 
M72, 73, and 30 morning)

This was the first time any of us had done a formal Messier Marathon. As 
dawn broke, we decided by acclamation that the Second Annual WSAL 
Messier Marathon will be held in March, 2103.


-- 
Robert Bruce Thompson
http://www.wsal.org