Record Set for Messier Marathon?

YOU DEEP SKY GUYS ARE A DEDICATED GROUP. FINDING THE TIME TO GET OUT TO VERY DARK SKYS WITH A DAY JOB AND FAMILY IS DIFFICULT, ALTHOUGH, MOST REWARDING BOTH OBSERVING AND IN THE INTRINSIC BEAUTY OF THE NIGHT SKY IN REMOTE LOCATIONS.
AFTER COMPILING MY OBSERVING LOG I NOTICED I HAVE COMPLETED ALL 110(109)OBJECTS ON THE MESSIER LIST. I STARTED LOGGING THINGS WHEN I GOT MY FIRST TELESCOPE IN NOVEMBER OF 1986 AND FINISHED WITH THE MESSIER CATALOG SEPTEMBER OF 2003. COULD THIS POSSIBLY BE THE LONGEST RECORD
FOR A MESSIER MARATHON?

Alan,

I doubt it. There are Messiers that can be (and have been) observed with the naked eye, like M45, the Pleides. Many millions (perhaps billions) of people have seen one or more Messiers, but they've NEVER seen any of the other objects.

In other words, NEVER is sometimes a larger period of time than 6 years, 10 months.

P.S. Congratulations! You've accomplished something that most of the people on this planet are never able to do.

Alan,

I got about 90 Messier objects while in high school 1969-1972, with a 60mm refractor from Sears. But quit stargazing after high school until 1996. Finished the entire list in 1998 with a 6" dob. So that makes it about 30 years for me. I'm sure mine is no record for the longest time.

Mike Ratcliff

Alan, I can answer your question:

The longest record for a Messier list is held by Charles Messier.

And it took him a lifetime.



Clear nights ... dark sites,
Darren