Tall observatory tower illuminated by warm light from an open door against a cloudy night sky.

Bittersweet news — our 2026 Messier Marathon at Westport Observatory is cancelled. It's the first day of spring and the clouds & rain are right on cue! Clear skies ahead! https://was-ct.org/

#MessierMarathon #WestportObservatory #Astronomy #Stargazing #Equinox #Spring #Messier

A green-tinted double whammy: it's St. Patrick's Day & #MessierMarathon week! 💚

Messier 81 is a sight to behold in this image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. In the night sky, M81 is visible with binoculars! (but it won't look green like in this infrared image 😉)

🔭 🧵 1/3

Every amateur astronomer has a #MessierMarathon checklist, so here's ours. The outcome of four years of dedication and more than a hundred nights under the skies of Extremadura!

Silhouetted figures of approximately 150 astronomy enthusiasts participate in the 10th annual Iran Messier Marathon in the Seh Qaleh desert. Red night vision lights illuminate the scene as they use telescopes and laser pointers to locate Messier catalog objects against the breathtaking backdrop of the Milky Way galaxy on a moonless night near the spring equinox.

Astronomy Picture from 27/05/2011

Messier Marathon

Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110527.html


#MessierMarathon #Iran #Astrophotography #MilkyWay #DarkSky #Astronomy #NightSky #Stargazing #SehQaleh #BabakTafreshi #Space #Cosmology #SpringEquinox

The Messier 54 (M54) globular star cluster. A dense cluster of unreasonable stars set against a dark background scattered with smaller stars. Credit: Kym Thalassoudis

The Messier 55 (M55) globular star cluster. A dense cluster of stars set against a dark background scattered with smaller stars. Credit: Kym Thalassoudis

The globular clusters M54 and M55 imaged using a stack of 5x30s exposures with the same astro-imaging rig (skymaps.com/ir2). These images show just two of the 88 Messier objects imaged during a single Messier Marathon session in March 2024. 🔭
#astrophotography #astronomy #messiermarathon

Silhouette of approximately 150 astronomy enthusiasts participating in the 10th annual Iran Messier Marathon in Seh Qaleh, Iran. The breathtaking Milky Way stretches across a dark night sky, illuminated by red night vision lights and green laser pointers guiding viewers to Messier catalog objects. Telescopes and tripods are set up amongst the participants. The image depicts a captivating scene of community stargazing under exceptionally dark skies.

Astronomy Picture from 27/05/2011

Messier Marathon

Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110527.html


#MessierMarathon #Iran #Astrophotography #MilkyWay #DarkSky #Astronomy #NightSky #Stargazing #SehQaleh #BabakTafreshi #Space #Cosmology #Telescopes

✨ #March is packed with observing fun, including a #TotalLunarEclipse, your chance to conquer the #MessierMarathon, and more.

🌕💫 #Markyourcalendars, set up your gear, and let's make this month a success.

📅 #Savethiscalendar to refer back all month long! 🌠✨

#Astronomy #Stargazing #Celestron

The sun's in Aquarius this month (near Lamda Aqr) with no Messier Objects nearby. That means with luck, skill, dedication, and perhaps a lot of coffee, you can see all the Messier objects in one night. My best is 104 of them before the rosy dawn sent us scurrying to ihop. #MessierMarathon 🔭