Messier-Caldwell (MesCal) Marathon

by stephen saber

adding the available caldwell showpieces- many within a stone's 

throw of the messiers- is a rewarding way to keep the marathon dso hunt momentum going while waiting for the sky to turn.

here's a template for 40deg N, but can easily vary as to when 

one wishes to jump on and off the messier track, and for latitude 

dependent target additions/omissions. this route adds 62 caldwells 

to the 110 messiers. some march caldwells not reaching at least 

10deg altitude are not included.

M74, M77, M33, C28, C23

M31, M32, M110, C18, C17

M52, C11, C13

M103, C8, C10, C5, C14

M76, M34, C24, M45

M79, M42, M43, M78, M50, M41

C64, M93, C58, M46, M47, C54

M48, C50, C49, C46

C41, C39, M35, M1, M37, M36, M38

C31, C25, M44, M67, C48

M95, M96, M105, M65, M66

C40, C53, C59

M81, M82, C7, C3

M97, M108, M109, M40, M106

C21, C26, C32, C29

M94, M63, M51, M101, M102

M98, M99, M100, M85, M84, M86

M87, M88, M91, M90, M89

M58, M59, M60, M49, M61

C38, C36, C35, M64, M53, M3

C45, C52, M104, C60, C61

M68, M83, C66

M5, M13, M92, C6, C1

M57, M56, C15, M39, C20, M29

C27, C33, C34, C37, M27, M71

M12, M10, M14, M107, M9, M4

M80, M62, M19

M11, M26, M16, M17, M18, M24

M25, M23, M21, M20, M8, M28

M22

C75, C76, C69, M6, M7

M69, M70, M54, M55, M75

C57, C47, C42, M15, M2 

M72, M73, C55

*C30, C19, C16, C22

C12, C4, C9, C2, M30

*this pre-m30 target sequence is ordered to allow cepheus 

maximum altitude while moving away from the approaching 

morning twilight dome.

as with the m-cubed, hardcore mescal marathon hunters wanting to preserve maximum nightvision and spend more time observing should practice memorizing and sharpshooting this list in smaller groups throughout the year.

Matt Wedel's appreciated follow-up: Concordiem Australis 

*****

[c38/the needle galaxy courtesy of sdss]