Another thing about the marathon is that you are trying to see several dim galaxies while it is still fairly light out. Last year, I picked up M77 but couldn't see M74 even though I am sure that I was looking in the right place. M33 is also a difficult galaxy to see in the light of dusk. I have trouble with it when it is fully dark, infact I have better luck getting it with binoculars. When morning comes in the marathon, Sagitarius is the last constellation that I could really make out. I could only see a couple of stars east of that. For me this made M30 impossible and I also couldn't find M75. One year I missed M31 in the evening and had to pick it up in the morning. That was the year that I did the best and got 98. There are a lot of lights up on the domes. That might be worse that sky glow for bothering you when viewing. I would think that somewhere west of Grantsville would be good. This time of year you want to be just a little ways from the lake because of dew and fog. -----Original Message----- From: Chuck Hards [mailto:chuckhards@yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, March 14, 2003 11:44 AM To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Urban astronomy Hi Bob: Flattish horizons allow you to get objects close to setting at sundown, and again in the morning as twilight brightens. IIRC, M-30 is especially troubling in the morning. (It's been about 10 years since I've done a marathon...) Bigger is always better, whether under a dark-sky or light pollution. Especially with LPR filters. A filtered view through a 12.5" in the city would be roughly equivalent to an unfiltered view through a 4-inch under dark skies, in terms of contrast, but you'd still have the resolution advantage of the larger scope regardless of contrast levels. People shouldn't consider valley astronomy a waste of a light bucket. A 12.5" or 16" at a school star-party will definitely give better views than the 6" to 8" scopes that usually show up at such functions. CCD imaging is largely unaffected by light pollution and moonlight. Someone with a camera and laptop could produce outstanding images on the monitor, even from downtown SLC. C. --- RStmarie@aol.com wrote:

Along the line of Messier Marathon efforts: How much advantage would a mountain top site be (Like the Francis Peak radar site behind Farmington)? and How much aperture is enough for a light polluted area?

__________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Web Hosting - establish your business online http://webhosting.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy