[ngcles]

Hi Brian, John & All,

While I'm in the same boat with you John, I have no reason to doubt your observation Brian -- congratulations and well done. My impressions are very similar to yours John.

I tried a few times over several years with 20cm in good to very good conditions and failed. In hindsight, the reality was the conditions weren't good enough.

I tried several times with 25cm before I succeeded one night at Mudgee (I think it was 1996) in excellent conditions. Still a very, very difficult object in that aperture. Several observing companions saw it through my 'scope that night while others shrugged their shoulders with chagrin. Curiously on the night, I felt the unfiltered view better than the UHC. I think I might barely have succeeded that night with 20cm if it had been available. Steven Lee has seen it in 15cm from Siding Spring and I have no reason to doubt him.

Strangely though, it seems if you live ... ummm ... outside Australia, you can see it in a pretty small telescope — frequently with little difficulty. Observing conditions elsewhere must be considerably better than here.

The proliferation of reported sightings/observations I've seen noted in 6", 5", 4" and 3" telescopes — and even hand-held binoculars with H-Beta filters are ..., well … pretty astonishing and only lead me to think that I must be an unskilled moron or functionally blind ... or both.

Strangely they are almost always accompanied by a statement to the effect that the ZLM was something like +7.5 approaching +8.0 but are rarely accompanied with an SQM reading to help corroborate that assessment. Undoubtedly, some observers have honestly succeeded in apertures smaller than 20cm. But, I read these reports and am frequently forced to wonder whether the reporter is (1) honest but incompetent (2) incompetent and dishonest (3) competent and dishonest or (4) competent, honest and accurate. Some of these people are likely competent and are being candid and honest but I find it hard to imagine that all of them are. The problem is that it is very, very hard to sort the wheat from the dross.

Some people also seem to see an eyepiece sketch as clinching proof of a good and honest observation ... because a sketch is ... pretty hard to fake ... isn't it?

Based on what I can/cannot see with my own eyes I'm given cause to ummm ... wonder ... from time to time.

Maybe it’s just me.


Best,

Les D