Messier Marathons News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

In 1758, a French astronomer started cataloging stars and comets through a ground telescope. Today, Hubble and amateur stargazers continue his legacy.

Don became interested in astronomy at age 8. He received first telescope on Oct. 7, 1965, a 2-inch (5cm) refractor. Later he received a 6-inch (15 cm) Criterion Dynascope and found all the Messier Objects in one year (1969-70). He decided to attempt a comet hunting program, which he began on Jan. 1, 1975, and found his first comet on Sept. 12, 1978, after 1700 hours of searching. His second find took an additional 1742 hours. He has now spent 8900 hours comet hunting during which he has discovered a total of 12 comets which bear his name. Don is the number one living visual comet discoverer. I...