By Franck Marchis, Senior Scientist
Astronomy is an adventure. Now, and especially in these troubled times, is the time to go on a deep sky trip. Starting this Thursday, on March 19, and for a whole week, until March 25, Unistellar is asking its community to join its forces for the first Global Messier Marathon Week. Take your eVscope into your backyard, onto your balcony, or wherever you can look at the sky and observe as many Messier galaxies, nebulae, globular clusters, and more beauties in the dark sky. Please share the news, make some observations, and share them along with pictures of your setup and you! Let’s enjoy the beauty of the dark sky together.
Unistellar and the SETI Institute would like to invite you to participate in an astronomy special event: a Messier Marathon!!
A Messier Marathon is a yearly astronomy event during which amateur astronomers try to observe as many of the 110 Messier deep-sky objects (galaxies, nebulae, globular clusters and more wonders in the universe) in a single night.
We had planned to organize special events about this fantastic astronomical festival: However, with the rising concerns about the COVID-19 pandemics and our obvious choice to prioritize safety, we decided to postpone all public gatherings. Additionally, the weather is quite uncertain in multiple locations in the coming days, so we decided to turn this one-night event into a weeklong activity, which will start this Thursday, March 19, at 8 pm CET, until Thursday, March 26. Join us for this first Global Messier Marathon Week.
We’re inviting everyone to observe as many of the 110 Messier deep-sky objects as possible during this week.
What?
Here is a program detailing, quarter by quarter, what you can observe during the Marathon. The eVscope is easy to use, making it an ideal telescope for hopping quickly from a galaxy to a nebula.
When?
The Global Messier Marathon takes place from March 19 to March 26.
How?
Turn your eVscope on and have fun. Any night you observe, please share your observations along with photos of you in action! You can post on social networks using the hashtags #messiermarathon and #unistellar
Throughout our Global Messier Marathon Week, we will share these images with our online communities. Now, and especially as we are facing new challenges together, is the time to go on a deep sky trip. We hope you will find time to join us in this astronomical adventure.
Please share the news, make some observations, and share them as well as pictures of your setup and you on your favorite social media (#messiermarathon). Let’s enjoy the dark sky together.
