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

Want to try to do a #messierMarathon in 2024 (weather permitting). I was surprised as to how many objects on the list I haven’t seen despite being a deep sky observer for decades.

#astrodon

Our friend @mmkelly puts together a stargazing side quest every week for #WUFO, where they teach us how to find celestial objects. This week's is up and it's a doozy! You owe it to yourself to go outside tonight and find as many #Messier objects as you can for the #messiermarathon

What's a Messier object, you may ask? Visit wufo.watch and find out!

#astronomy #UFO
https://www.wufo.watch/2023/03/22/stargazing-side-quest-week-62-messier-marathon/

To close out Hubble's 2023 #MessierMarathon, here's a new image of M19!

M19 is a star cluster with a slightly elongated shape. It's relatively close to the heart of our Milky Way, so the gravity from the galactic center could be stretching it: https://go.nasa.gov/40mqDld
#Hubble

The final new Hubble Messier image is Messier 19 (M19). The Hubble proposal associated with this image sought to investigate M19’s formation and the ratios of different populations of stars within the cluster. The image includes Hubble observations taken in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths of light.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/messier-19

Visit Hubble's Messier Catalog to see more Hubble images of these objects.

https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-messier-catalog

#NASA #Hubble #MessierMarathon #astronomy #stargazing #Astrodon #universe #space #sciencemastodon #science #stars

The Messier Catalog is a resource that includes many astronomical sights from the northern hemisphere. We’re sharing new Hubble images of Messier objects so you can “stargaze” from your screen.

Join us for a mini #MessierMarathon, no matter where you are! https://go.nasa.gov/42k0GVr
#Hubble

Today's new Hubble Messier image is the open star cluster, Messier 7 (M7) some 1,000 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Scorpius. Second-century polymath, Claudius Ptolemy, first recorded M7 in 130 AD, earning it the nickname Ptolemy's Cluster.

Follow along as Hubble releases a new Messier image each day through Tuesday, March 21.

Hubble's Messier Catalog:
https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-messier-catalog

#NASA #Hubble #MessierMarathon #astronomy #stargazing #Astrodon #universe #space #sciencemastodon #science #stars

The Messier Catalog is a resource that includes many astronomical sights from the northern hemisphere. We’re sharing new Hubble images of Messier objects so you can “stargaze” from your screen.

Join us for a mini #MessierMarathon, no matter where you are!
https://go.nasa.gov/3LF6e6K
#Hubble

Today's new Hubble Messier image is Messier 14 (M14). Discovered by Charles Messier in 1764, the globular cluster M14 is home to over 150,000 stars and is some 29,000 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/messier-14

Follow along as Hubble releases a new Messier image each day through Tuesday, March 21.

Hubble's Messier Catalog:
https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-messier-catalog

#NASA #Hubble #MessierMarathon #astronomy #stargazing #Astrodon #universe #space #sciencemastodon #science #stars

Just in time for the 2023 #MessierMarathon, Hubble has a new view of M80 to share.

M80 is one of the densest globular clusters in the Milky Way. It's about 28,000 light-years away from Earth and contains hundreds of thousands of stars: https://go.nasa.gov/3JNPpp1
#Hubble