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300mm can see a nice bit of Eta Car
Used a 300mm dob from BinTel that was required to be very nicely collimated to see the very small features of Eta Car and Humonculus nebula.
(Have not published this OR as it would be 3 pages on IceInSpace and I think that is beyond what the Forum would like to see as a post so I am going to not post my last 2 nights that are long ORs)
Here is my best observation from March new moon and since it is so tiny you will need very very good seeing but I bet you don't need exceptionally dark skies as it is fairly bright. Saw both lobes but I was in rather dark sky. I neglected to record the directions of things then wrote this after 4 weeks so sadly I may have some directions wrong if from memory but the info was from my tape made when I was observing.
con: Car cmt1: EtaCarAndHomunculusNebula: fav: F5 tape: 1:04:00
GSC 8626:2809 8626:2809:1 PPM 339408 SAO 238429 HD 93308
Star 6.10 0.0.603 --- TYC 10 45 03.5 -59 41 04
2:05am 5mmNag 305x What is striking at first glance is this area has a distinct yellow-orange sort of color, especially close in to Eta Car itself. Star itself sits within a small dark disk before main brightness starts in. The two lobes look as if a big peanut with the bottom one [more East?] being a brighter lobe. The trailing lobe is more difficult to see and may be smaller. The edge of the peanut on the brighter lobe is fairly sharp in cutoff of the light. In the brighter lobe I detect from time to time 1 or maybe 2 different darker spots along the main axis of the peanut but they are only mildly sharp in moments of good seeing. There are two stars on the other side of the dark disk that are tiny points of similar mag that when taken in with the Homunculus Nebula as a whole add a nice touch to this tiny but unusual field. I detect from time to time a small spike comming off perpendicular to the peanut. [This object requires EXTREMELY accurate collimation and this I learned after 2 earlier attempts]
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