#messiermarathon — Public Fediverse posts

Stargazers, bittersweet news — our 2026 Messier Marathon at Westport Observatory is cancelled. Today's the first day of spring, and spring showed up RIGHT on cue with clouds and rain to shut us down! We were ready to chase all 110 Messier objects, but Mother Nature had other plans. Clear skies ahead! https://was-ct.org/

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

M92

Magnitude 6.4 globular cluster located 26,700 light-years away in the constellation Hercules. M92 is approaching us at 112 km/sec and was a "Polarissima Borealis", or "North Cluster", about 12,000 years ago (10,000 BC), and it will again in about 14,000 years (16,000 AD).

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m92 #cluster #hercules #messier #messiermarathon

M15

Magnitude 6.2 globular cluster located 35,700 light-years away in the constellation Pegasus. At an estimated 12.5±1.3 billion years old, it is one of the oldest known globular clusters. Its core has undergone a contraction known as "core collapse" and it has a central density cusp with an enormous number of stars surrounding what may be a central black hole.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m15 #cluster #pegasus #messier #messiermarathon

M110

Magnitude 8.5 dwarf elliptical galaxy located 2.69 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda. It is also a satellite galaxy of M31 (Andromeda Galaxy) and was independently discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m110 #galaxy #andromeda #messier #messiermarathon

M32

Magnitude 8.08 dwarf galaxy located 2.65 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda. It is a satellite galaxy of M31 (Andromeda Galaxy) and was discovered by Guillaume Le Gentil in 1749.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m32 #galaxy #andromeda #messier #messiermarathon

M71

Magnitude 8.2 globular cluster located 13,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagitta.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m71 #cluster #sagitta #messier #messiermarathon

M56

Magnituce 8.3 open cluster located 32,900 light-years away in the constellation Lyra. It measures roughly 84 light-years across, contains 230,000 solar masses, and has an estimated age of 13.70 billion years.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m56 #cluster #lyra #messier #messiermarathon

M26

Magnitude 8.0 open cluster located 5,160 light-years away in the constellation Scutum. The brightest star is of magnitude 11 and the age of this cluster has been calculated to be 85.3 million years.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m26 #cluster #scutum #messier #messiermarathon

M102

M102 is a galaxy listed in the Messier Catalogue that cannot be unambiguously identified. Its original discoverer Pierre Méchain said that it was a duplicate observation of Messier 101, but more historical evidence favors that it is NGC 5866, although other galaxies have been suggested as possible identities. NASA considers it to be the same as NGC 5866.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m102 #galaxy #messier #messiermarathon

M57 Ring Nebula

Magnitude 8.8 planetary nebula located 2,567 light-years away in the constellation Lyra. At the center is a white dwarf that burns over 100,000 degrees Kelvin. Surrounding it is an envelope about 2 to 3 light years in size of what was once its outer layers that were blown away into a cylindrical shape some 6,000-8,000 years ago.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m57 #nebula #lyra #messier #messiermarathon

M26

Magnitude 8.0 open cluster located 5,160 light-years away in the constellation Scutum. It is 22 light-years across and is estimated to be 85.3 million years old.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m26 #cluster #scutum #messier #messiermarathon

M9

Magnitude 7.7 globular cluster located 25,800 light-years away in the constellation Ophiuchus. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m9 #cluster #ophiuchus #messier #messiermarathon

M92

Magnitude 6.4 globular cluster located 26,700 light-years away in the constellation Hercules. It was discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1777 and catalogued by Charles Messier in 1781. William Herschel first resolved individual stars in the cluster in 1783.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m92 #cluster #hercules #messier #messiermarathon

M14

Magnitude 7.6 globular cluster located 30,300 light-years away in the constellation Ophiuchus. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m14 #cluster #ophiuchus #messier #messiermarathon

M92

Magnitude 6.4 globular cluster located 26,700 light-years away in the constellation Hercules. It was discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1777.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m92 #cluster #hercules #messier #messiermarathon

M110

Magnitude 8.5 dwarf elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Andromeda. While Charles Messier first saw the galaxy in 1773, he never included it in his list. The suggestion to assign the galaxy a Messier number was made by Kenneth Glyn Jones in 1967, making it the last member of the Messier List.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m110 #galaxy #andromeda #messier #messiermarathon

M14

Magnitude 7.6 globular cluster located 30,300 light-years away in the constellation Ophiuchus. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. It contains several hundred thousand stars and is 100 light-years across.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m14 #cluster #ophiuchus #messier #messiermarathon

M94

Magnitude 8.2 spiral galaxy located 16.0 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. M94 recently (10 million years ago) experienced a violent event that ejected millions of solar masses of material from its nucleus. The faint ring around M94 is a region of strong star formation. It gives the galaxy the appearance of a bone-white eye staring back at you.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m94 #galaxy #canesvenatici #messier #messiermarathon

M102 (NGC 5866)

Magnitude 9.9 lenticular galaxy located 50 million light-years away in the constellation Draco. One of the most outstanding features of NGC 5866 is the extended dust disk, which is seen almost exactly edge-on. This dust lane is highly unusual for a lenticular galaxy.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m102 #ngc5866 #galaxy #draco #messier #messiermarathon

M52

Magnitude 7.3 open cluster located 4,600 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1774.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m52 #cluster #cassiopeia #messier #messiermarathon

M57 Ring Nebula

Magnitude 8.8 planetary nebula located 2,567 light-years away in the constellation Lyra. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1779.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m57 #nebula #lyra #messier #messiermarathon

M11 Wild Duck Cluster

Magnitude 5.8 open cluster located 6,120 light-years away in the constellation Scutum. It was discovered by Gottfried Kirch in 1681. Its popular name derives from the brighter stars forming a triangle which could resemble a flying flock of ducks.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m11 #opencluster #scutum #messier #messiermarathon

M109

Magnitude 9.8 barred spiral galaxy located 83.5 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m109 #galaxy #ursamajor #messier #messiermarathon

M108

Magnitude 10.0 barred spiral galaxy located 28 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m108 #galaxy #ursamajor #messier #messiermarathon

M64 Black Eye Galaxy

Magnitude 8.52 spiral galaxy located 17 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by Edward Pigott in 1779.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m64 #galaxy #comaberenices #messier #messiermarathon

M65

Magnitude 9.3 intermediate spiral galaxy located 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m65 #galaxy #leo #messier #messiermarathon

M90

Magnitude 9.5 intermediate spiral galaxy located 60 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1781.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m90 #galaxy #virgo #messier #messiermarathon

M94

Magnitude 8.2 spiral galaxy located 16 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m94 #galaxy #canesvenatici #messier #messiermarathon

M89

Magnitude 9.8 elliptical galaxy located 50 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1781.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m89 #galaxy #virgo #messier #messiermarathon

M92

Magnitude 6.4 globular cluster located 26,700 light-years away in the constellation Hercules. It was discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1777.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m92 #cluster #hercules #messier #messiermarathon

M102 Spindle Galaxy

Magnitude 9.9 lenticular galaxy located 50 million light-years away in the constellation Draco. It is also identified as NGC 5866.

#astrophotography #astronomy #space #unistellar #citizenscience #m102 #ngc5866 #galaxy #draco #messier #messiermarathon