From: Tal Givoly
Date: Sun, Mar 19, 2023 at 9:29 AM

Messier Marathon Report - Tal Givoly - March 16-17, 2023 -
  Southern Israel (30.53 N / 34.63 E)

I've achieved 109 out of 110 objects visually, and 108 out of 110 
photographically. M30 was unattainable as the sun was too high by the time 
it was up. I was able to image stars from ~2.5 degrees above the horizon, 
but alas, M30 was impossible. Also, I am not certain I captured M110 in my 
Andromeda image. I saw it, and could easily have shot it, but had intended 
to capture it with the wide field rig, but I cannot find that capture, so 
I probably missed capturing it. Therefore, 108/110 photographically and 
109/110 visually is the result.

This was a solo attempt. Four (4) rigs were used (+timelapse), as follows:

  Visual:
    Dobsonian 8" f/6 (1200mm focal length). A ~40-year-old Meade. Manual 
      slewing. For many objects, using Astrohopper 
      (https://artyom-beilis.github.io/astrohopper.html - developed and 
      contributed to Open Source community by Artyom Beilis).
    Meade Star Adventurer 80 (80mm / 400mm focal length doublet achromat)
      on Celestron LCM mount - primarily for wide field
      (e.g. M45, M44, M31, etc.).
  EAA/astrophotography:
      Narrow field: Bresser Newtonian 130/650 on SkyWatcher EQ5 Pro
      controlled by ASIAIR Pro with ZWO ASI178mc camera. Unguided. 
      Exclusively 10-second exposures.
    Wide field: LAOWA 100mm f/2.8 lens on SkyWatcher AZ-GTi in EQ mode
      controlled by ASIAIR Pro with ZWO ASI178mc camera. Unguided. 
      5-second and 10-second exposures. 
    Timelapse rig:
      Canon T7i, Tokina 11-16mm lens (@12mm), controlled by Arsenal 2. 
      Took 6+ hours of timelapse from pre-setup to battery death... 
        
Here is the (draft) timelapse of the first 6 hours.

I'm still compiling the photos, and here are a few nicer ones, mostly 
unedited (some were somewhat sloppier, due to the time pressure): 
https://photos.app.goo.gl/gxVkW2Y23EN5oNYw8 (included here is the gear, 
the timelapse, and the log. Didn't have time to mark which rig everything 
was done in).


It seems to me that this might have been the first-ever attempt for:

    Simultaneous visual and EAA solo marathon
    Astrohopper-supported Messier Marathon

Best regards,
Tal