SKU: 17232443786

The Year-Round Messier Marathon

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The Year-Round Messier MarathonBy Harvard Pennington Product Information: 8. 50" by 11. 00", 194 pages, hardbound. Among the deepest satisfactions of amateur astronomy is knowing your way around the sky. From the familiar guideposts of the brightest stars, you confidently point your binoculars or telescope toward the Andromeda galaxy, the Hercules cluster, or the Lagoon nebula. This book was written for the person who wants to become deeply familiar with the most famous list of 110

By Harvard Pennington

Product Information: 8.50" by 11.00", 194 pages, hardbound.

Among the deepest satisfactions of amateur astronomy is knowing your way around the sky. From the familiar guideposts of the brightest stars, you confidently point your binoculars or telescope toward the Andromeda galaxy, the Hercules cluster, or the Lagoon nebula. This book was written for the person who wants to become deeply familiar with the most famous list of 110 deep-sky wonders, the Messier objects. Using bright “guidepost stars”and detailed sky charts, the novice soon learns how to find the nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies that every amateur astronomer should know. And you need not “run” this marathon just a few weeks a year. Even at the worst you will have about 90 of the 110 objects visible throughout the year!

The observing techniques taught in this book are both easy to learn and powerful, suitable not only for the novice but also for the experienced amateur. By following the sequence of charts presented in the second half of the book, a beginner using Harvard Pennington's methods should be able to locate and identify 25 to 30 Messier objects at any time of year before midnight. By working systematically against time, by running the “Messier Marathon” the observer quickly hones crucial observing skills and soon gains a deep familiarity with the night sky.

Once each year, on a moonless night during late March or early April, observers have an opportunity to test their skills by trying to observe all 110 objects that make up the Messier catalog in just one night! In the early evening, its a race against time to sight the first objects before they set. During the night, marathoners maintain a steady pace to find object after object, and as the dawn light grows, they try to spot the last one before it is lost in the morning twilight. It is not easy, but those who have done the dusk-to-dawn Messier Marathon run it again and again.

In this book, Harvard Pennington shows how to:

  • Learn 17 bright finder stars and 17 prominent finder constellations so you will know where to look for all 110 Messier objects.
  • Align a sighting device such as the Telrad® so that you can point your telescope rapidly and with assurance toward all of the Messier objects
  • Calibrate your telescope so that you know exactly how much sky you see through your finder and through the eyepiece of your telescope.
  • Find all of the Messier objects using the maps, drawings and descriptions included in this book. You will know exactly where to point your telescope, and what the object should look like when you find it.
  • The Year-Round Messier Marathon Field Guide is designed around pages like those shown above which take the guess work out of locating Messier Objects. The circles shown on the map of Orion are Telrad finder views. Just place the Telrad as shown and you are very close. Then check (if necessary) the 8 x 50 finder views shown on the opposite page to zero in on the object. The sketches and accompanying text take the guess work out any final identification. This technique works year-round so you do not have to limit your fun to a single night in the Spring!

ISBN: 978-0943396545

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SKU: 17232443786

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Chris Hoekstra
Cuba, US
★★★★★ 5
Whistle away my friend!
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1), Style: Pack of 2
Love it! My dog loves it! The people at the dog park love it! The whistle is the best thing about these balls but the hard durable rubber and the denseness of the ball really make it fly. Let me quickly breakdown each of these: First the sound is like a...well, whistle coming from a human but oscillating and slightly different. It helps the dogs track where it goes and helps them find it better when it is getting dark (while flying of course, not when it is stationary). It barely makes a sound when throwing it with the wind but really howls when throwing it into the wind. This is why you get this ball and most everyone at the dog park perks up and wonders what that is, asks about it, and thinks it is very cool; which it is! Next is the durable rubber which doesn't have a single bite mark or split yet in 4 months of constant daily play for about 1 1/2 hours every day! The dog chews it as he brings it back and other dogs steal the ball and run with it while "killing" it perpetually and it has held up great. I don't claim this is going to be Kong ball durable but it is very well chosen rubber. Last is the denseness of the ball which really makes to go far in a chuckit launcher. One doesn't really notice how far this goes until going back to a tennis ball and realizing how short a tennis ball goes compared to this. The whistler ball, and presumably other chuckit rubber balls (glow, irregular bounce), go 30-40% farther when I throw then using the longest chuckit thrower. This is excellent and wears my retriever out even faster; not to mention the rippling muscles he has from sprinting that whole way! Overall I got both ball several months ago and we started with the blue ball and haven't had to touch the orange one yet. This is his goto ball at the park and it is the most popular ball, bar none, for all the dogs to steal. The bright blue aspect, the rubber aspect, the sound, and exclusivity of it make it coveted by dogs and owners. I might be gushing and glowing over this ball a bit much but I tend to do that when something unexpected ends up being part of your everyday life and blows you away at how wonderful it is.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2012
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Murzeig
Alexandria, US
★★★★★ 5
Great for dogs that are chewers
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1), Style: Pack of 2
These are wonderful for our dog. The bright colors help us find them when our dog can't. The size is perfect to play fetch. Our dog will chew on it a bit and it stays together and does not fall apart. That is a big bonus because our dog is a chewer!
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Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2026
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Drippy
Charlottesville, US
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It's A Whistler!
Size: Medium (Pack of 1), Style: Pack of 1
This Chuckit! Whistler Ball is basically a regular fetch toy that decided to become an annoying little teakettle mid-air. My dog goes absolutely nuts for it—every throw sounds like a tiny referee is shrieking "foul!" the whole way across the yard. He chases it harder than he chases the mailman, and bonus: I can actually find it in tall grass because it's screaming for help. Super bouncy, tough enough that he hasn't destroyed it yet (miracle), and now our walks sound like a low-budget horror movie.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2026
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AJ1983
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 4
Great buy
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1), Style: Pack of 2
Easy to track balls. My dog loves them and I like that they whistle when you throw them cause some times my dog loses track of it in the air. This helps because they can hear where it's going. Will buy again.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2026
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Staci
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 5
My Dog's Favorite Balls
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1), Style: Pack of 2
My dogs love these balls and won't play with any others. My lab has to carry the orange ball and track and retrieve the blue one. We have a system!
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Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2026

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