The 2017 All Arizona Messier Marathon
By Rick Tejera

Well, The 21017 All Arizona Messier Marathon has come and gone and by all 
accounts was one of the best in recent years. Over eighty folks showed up 
to either participate in the marathon itself or just to spend a nice night 
observing. The event has been growing the past few years with a few new 
twists to make it more enjoyable for everyone. We again enjoyed a sub 
sandwich dinner before the twilight talk, graciously catered and hosted by 
Lori Prause. It was delicious and all who partook had their fill for sure. 
A new addition this year was a Silent Auction for item of astronomical 
interest. Many of the items up for bid were generously donated by the 
estate of Gene Lucas, one of the charter members of the Saguaro Astronomy 
Club. There were also items that were raffled off to those gathered. But 
the big prize was the 14" Collapsible Dobsonian telescope, generously 
donated by Kevin Legore and Skywatcher-USA. The telescope was won by Mark 
Biesiada of Phoenix, Congratulations to Mark. I know he is looking forward 
to first light. And again, thanks to Kevin & Skywatcher-USA for teir 
support of the Messier marathon and SAC, it is greatly appreciated.

After the dinner & raffles I gave the traditional twilight talk. Among the 
observers were three from Colorado, 1one from Auburn California. Tucson was 
well represented this year with several at large observers and several from 
TAAA. EAVC and SAC were, as usual well represented. After the talk, it was 
Man (or Woman) your Scopes! During the day the wind had picked up quite a 
bit, which gave everyone concern, but all the worry was for naught as the 
wind died down and the sky settled for a beautiful night of clear, steady 
skies. Although the results are still being verified, we had 7 observers 
turn in 110 objects observed,5 with 109 and 1 with 108. We also had one 
Imager among the entrants and 3 young observers in the 2nd year of the 
"Under 18" Category. It was good to see youngsters getting involved and 
enjoyed the night sky. I hope to see more young folk next year. 
The final results will be published by the next issue of the newsletter. 

Well, as I mentioned at the beginning of the article, this was one of the 
best marathons in a while and it would not be possible without the work 
of more than just one person, so a big thanks you goes out to (in no 
particular order):

Rick Rotramel: Logistics
Jack Jones: T-Shirts & Porta Potty
Lori & Mitch Prause: Marathon Dinner
Kevin Kozel: Silent Auction & Raffles
Kevin Legore & SkyWatcher USA: Donation of the 14" Inch Dob as a Door prize
Mike Collins (SAC President): Support and advice.

Final results & Photo gallery coming next month. See you next year!