A Messier Marathon is an attempt to find as many Messier objects as possible during one night. The Messier catalogue was compiled by French astronomer Charles Messier during the late 18th century and consists of 110 relatively bright deep sky objects (galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters).
The first MAS Messier Marathon was held on March 13, 1999 (Apr Gemini, pg 4), and has been held annually at the Cherry Grove Observatory. The marathon is scheduled for the new moon weekend nearest the spring equinox with Friday being the primary night, and Saturday being the backup night.
As with all Cherry Grove events, the marathon is held only if the skies are clear and will be CANCELLED IF CLOUDY. See the MAS home page or Forum for the latest information regarding the star party status.