Seestar S30 Messier Marathon Observation Log ******************* The Master List *******************

Pending targets:

M4-5, M8-M9, M16-26

M28, M30, M41, M46-48, M50

M62, M72-73

M75, M77-80, M83, M93, M104, M107

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August to September: M8, M16, M17, M20, M21, M22, M23, M24, M25, M75

October: M30

January to February: M46-47, M93

May to June: M4 

July to August: M9, M19, M28

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Objects You Can Never Capture from 56° N

1. The Geometrically Impossible (Below the Horizon)

• M7 (Ptolemy’s Cluster in Scorpius): Declination -34.8°. This target rests nearly a full degree below your true horizon at its highest point.

2. The Practically Impossible (Skimming Below ~5° Altitude)

These targets technically poke above the mathematical horizon at culmination, but they remain buried in intense atmospheric extinction (airmass):

• M69 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius): Dec -32.4° → Peak altitude: ~1.6°

• M70 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius): Dec -32.3° → Peak altitude: ~1.7°

• M6 (Butterfly Cluster in Scorpius): Dec -32.2° → Peak altitude: ~1.8°

• M55 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius): Dec -30.9° → Peak altitude: ~3.1°

• M54 (Globular Cluster in Sagittarius): Dec -30.5° → Peak altitude: ~3.5°

At these microscopic altitudes, light passes through 10 to 20 times the amount of Earth's atmosphere compared to zenith, scattering faint light and distorting stars into blurred streaks.

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Those marked with a (-) is less than optimal.

M1 2025/12/16

M2 2026/8/24

M3 2026/03/29 (*)

M10 2026/9/9 (-)

M11 2026/8/24

M12 2026/9/9 (-)

M13 2026/4/12 (*)

M14 2026/9/9 (-) 2026/09/15

M15 2025/12/8

M27 2025/12/4 2026/8/24

M29 2026/8/24

M31 2025/11/21

M32 2025/11/21

M33 2025/12/20

M34 2026/3/25

M35 2025/12/8

M36 (-) 2026/3/25

M37 (-) 2026/3/25

M38 (-) 2026/3/25

M39 2026/5/25

M40 2026/4/17

M42 2025/12/13

M43 2025/12/13

M44 (-) 2026/03/29

M45 (-) 2026/3/27

M49 2026/4/18

M51 2026/3/25 (*)

M52 2026/9/9

M53 2026/4/17 2026/09/15

M56 2026/8/13

M57 2026/8/13

M58 2026/4/13 (-)

M59 2026/4/18

M60 2026/4/18

M61 2026/4/18

M63 (-) 2026/03/29

M64 2026/4/12

M65 2026/3/27 (*)

M66 2026/3/27 (*)

M67 (-) 2026/3/27

M71 2026/8/24

M72 2026/09/15

M73 2026/09/15

M74 (-) 2026/1/3 (*)

M76 2026/1/4

M81 2026/3/20 2026/3/6 2026/12/16 (*)

M82 2026/3/20 2026/3/6 2026/12/16 (*)

M84 2026/4/13 (-)

M85 2026/4/17

M86 2026/4/13 (-)

M87 2026/4/13 (-)

M88 2026/4/17

M89 2026/4/13 (-)

M90 2026/4/13 (-)

M91 2026/4/17

M92 2026/4/24

M94 (-) 2026/03/29 2026/04/30

M95 2026/4/6 2026/4/22

M96 2026/4/6 2026/4/22

M97 2026/3/21 

M98 (-) 2026/3/27

M99 (-) 2026/3/27

M100 (-) 2026/3/27

M101 2026/3/28 (*)

M102 2026/4/6

M103 2026/4/18 (-)

M105 2026/4/6 2026/4/22

M106 2026/3/28

M108 2026/3/21 

M109 2026/4/5

(-) is suboptimal

(*) means worth trying again 

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20260329

It's good to push myself to capture something even in the worst situation.

It's nice to get some ideas about the size, the location and the magnitude of more targets.