Sturgeon Bay, Wis. (March 5, 2025) – The community is invited to attend the March meeting of the Door Peninsula Astronomical Society (DPAS) at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. DPAS Board Member Jim Gallt will present Spectroscopy 2, an update to his February 2023 presentation. He will discuss recent findings and observations using the club’s new ALPY 600 high-resolution spectroscope. The presentation will include a review of spectroscopy fundamentals, followed by results from the spectroscope’s first-light observations. Weather permitting, sky viewing will follow the program.
Beginning at 10:57 PM on Thursday, March 13 and continuing into Friday, March 14, 2025, a total lunar eclipse will reach maximum totality at 1:58 AM and conclude around 5:00 AM. Given the late-night timing, DPAS volunteers have decided to combine the event with a Messier Marathon—an astronomical challenge in which amateur astronomers attempt to observe all 110 Messier objects in a single night. The Messier Marathon will start at dusk on Thursday. Both of these are clear-sky-only events.
The Messier objects are named after French astronomer Charles Messier (1730–1817), who cataloged these celestial bodies while searching for comets. Since comets are named after their discoverers, Messier hoped to make a significant discovery. However, many of the faint, fuzzy objects he observed were not comets but deep-sky objects such as galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae. To avoid mistaking these objects for comets, he systematically numbered and mapped them, eventually publishing the Messier Catalogue to assist other astronomers.
With modern telescopes, astronomers now recognize the Messier objects as some of the most fascinating deep-sky formations. The Leif Everson Observatory telescope will be used during the Messier Marathon to locate and capture images of these stunning celestial objects. Participants will attempt to observe and photograph as many as possible
The monthly Viewing Night will be held on Saturday, March 29, 2025. The Astronomy Center will open at 7:00 PM, and planetarium shows will be offered approximately every half hour, repeating as many times as necessary to accommodate all visitors. If the skies are clear, the observatory will open as soon as the stars become visible, and DPAS members will guide visitors using small telescopes and green laser pointers.
All activities are free and open to the public and will be held at the Astronomy Campus, 2200 Utah Street, Sturgeon Bay.
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