C I have heard people speak of seeing the "chess piece" of the Horsehead C Nebula as sort of a touchstone for light gathering/good seeing conditions. C What size scope is required to do this under great seeing conditions? I C have heard you don't have a prayer even with a 14 incher . C Any experiences to share? What magnification is good for hunting? TIA C C Steve
Well, not quite an ATM discussion ... But what a heck. Yes you CAN detect (note the word "detect" , not SEE) the Horsehead with smaller scope than 14 inch. But you need EXCEPTIONAL transparency, clean optics, and absolutely no stray light (cover yourself with a black cloth or such - no kidding, even scatered stralight IS stray light). Use medium magnification - the Horsehead is surprisingly big. Slight 'scope rocking sometimes helps as well.
Or you can try a time honoured practice of taking few glasses of burbon/vodka/port (take your pick) and using of special observation technique known as "averted imagination" (never fails!).
Bratislav