Horsehead

[iceman (Mike)]

Was interesting driving to work this morning, at about 5:30am on the freeway (F3), looked up and there were some dark clouds over the top of some lighter clouds.. they had a very interesting shape and actually looked like the horsehead nebula!

Has anyone seen the horsehead visually?

Rod and I were able to catch a glimpse of it at the SPSP this year, in a 20" obsession with a H-beta filter and an 11mm Nagler (I think, can't quite remember the focal length of the nagler).

It was very, very faint but it could be seen. I don't think it would be worth spending the money on a h-beta filter for, but I spose if you've got the cash and want a challenge.. why not!?

[rumples riot]

Never seen it visually.

[astro_south (Andrew)]

I have seen the "bite' in the background nebula in my 12.5" dob where the horsehead is. There was no detail - just a dark area -easy with averted vision. I assume more aperture and a filter would help.

[ving (David)]

i have spent hours staring at the region at home and dark sites. still no luck... one day I will see it tho

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

I supposedly saw it at SPSP too..came away thinking it was a bit of a con, H beta filter for one object and you can't see it properly through a 20 inch scope

[ving (David)]

one night at the dark site (the oakes) on a night of really good seeing I very faintly saw some vague nebulosity in the area, but thats the closest i got... I need a darker site and really good seeing i think

[GrampianStars (Rob)]

Originally posted by seeker372011
............. you can't see it properly through a 20 inch scope

Something is wrong with that 20"
should be a piece of cake

[Astroman (Andrew Wall)]

Some Nebulosity that can bee seen in the general area is the Flame Nebula, easy to see in an 8" with dark skies. Just keep Zeta Orionis out of field

[astroron (Ron)]

I have observed the Horsehead nebula many times with a 20cm )(8") SCT and a 40cm (16") Dob the object requires a dark clear sky with steady seeing and most of all to look in the right place, a lot of observers tend to look on the wrong side of the Flame Neb.
a large aperture also helps and medium to high magnification, also you must not stare at the area but move your eye or the scope and use everted vision and some patients and in time it will come quite easely to you. Ron

[h0ughy (David)]

I have seen it at SPSP this year when a nice gentleman from the western Sydney astro society let me look through his celestron 11 sct and he used his 31mm nagler and a h-aplha filter. I could just make our the shape.

[ausastronomer (John Bambury)]

Originally posted by iceman
Rod and I were able to catch a glimpse of it at the SPSP this year, in a 20" obsession with a H-beta filter and an 11mm Nagler (I think, can't quite remember the focal length of the nagler).

It was very, very faint but it could be seen.

Mike,

If you saw it in Glenn Williams scope from AS of Vic he uses a 20mm Nagler T5 with a H-Beta. I observed it on the Friday night in Glenns scope when the sky was a lot clearer than the Saturday Night and it was quite apparent, it didn't need averted vision and left no doubt in the observers mind what you were looking at.

CS- John B

[astroron (Ron)]

I think that as one gets more experence it is a lot easeyer to see. Ron

[binofied]

I have seen the horsehead on many occassions now in my 16" binoculars. At Stardate 2005 (Napier NZ in January) I managed to get about ten others to see it as well.

The dark shape was fairly easy to make out with twin UHC filters and 19mm panoptics. It looked like a rectangular shaped darkning and reasonably large. At one end the thickning of hte neck was showing but only just. No other detail was visable. The huge increase in contrast from the binocular is mostly what makes it an easy target for me. We had a photo on the PC to check star fields etc and it was 100% correct.

I tried without the filters and could just make it out with averted vision, compared to directly visable with the UHC's.

With only one eye and UHC's it was just visable but averted vision made it easier. Opening the other eye made it very in your face as you had needed to concentrate so hard with one eye that it was then obvious with two.

Dark nebulas are made for binocular telescope the improved shape recognition and contrast just rock.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Hi Dave and welcome to the show. Loved your binoviewer at the astophotofest. Eta Carina was absolutely stunning. Guys if you haven't already, check out Daves binos in my NZ review or Robby's or John Drummonds review. If I'd thought about it I would have asked to try for the HH when I had the chance.

[ving (David)]

Originally posted by Astroman
Some Nebulosity that can bee seen in the general area is the Flame Nebula, easy to see in an 8" with dark skies. Just keep Zeta Orionis out of field

yeah the flame is easy... unfortunately it is on the wrong side of zeta orionis

[asimov (John)]

Well, I think I've seen it with the 12.5".....But it could have been wishful thinking.

[fringe_dweller]

I have seen/glimpsed it many many times visually with/without filters in scopes from 6" newt's up from dark skies and the suburbs (we all still use 1.25" EP's - cant use 2" in these dobs due to design features ) - but not in any great detail usually of course, but just the dark bite out of the brighter nebula as was mentioned before, mostly. I had the use of a mates 13" f5 dob (I had access as his - 'field tester' - for his homemade scopes ), and his filter collection, including a HB? and OIII for a few years. That was my favourite DSO scope I have evr used at dark sites, but I also had my best look at jupiter ever thru that scope!. One commonly known method we like to do a lot with a dob for these dim objects, is to hold the end of the dob (while avoiding the heat from your hand in the view!) delicately with tips of fingers, and just jiggle the end around a little ever so slightly (like panning for gold) - enough to get your dark vision activated - ie dim moving objects night vision feature from our primitive night hunting days - ugg. same as averted vision really. But practice is what makes it easy of course - if you look at something enough it gets very easy - if you already know what your looking for or at. you must train your eyes if you are new at it, I am finding you just get better at it really until your eyes go i guess. I am blessed still for now (on knees praying) with reasonably good eyesight-
Cheers
Fringey
PS welcome Asimov another west coaster eh!

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Originally posted by fringe_dweller
One commonly known method we like to do a lot with a dob for these dim objects, is to hold the end of the dob (while avoiding the heat from your hand in the view!) delicately with tips of fingers, and just jiggle the end around a little ever so slightly

I first discovered this technique looking for a comets tail.
Looking directly at it I couldnt see it , then after jiggling the scope it became obvious and virtually lept out at me. After that it was easily visible.

[Rodstar (Rod)]

I think Mike we probably needed a bit more time to take it in. I felt a bit rushed...after all, you don't want to hog the scope! From the 20-30 secs I had to look, I could recognise the dark area but had to use a bit of imagination to see a horsehead.

I suspect it is a bit like any object that is elusive...the more times you look at it the more obvious it becomes. When I think back to the first time I looked at Centaurus A.....

My plan for SPSP next year is to take a look at it in a big scope each night. Hopefully it will begin to jump out at me like others describe!

[Late_Cretaceous]

Has anyone seen the horsehead visually?

I had a chance to look at it through a 20" once. Can't say that I actually saw it though. Ther is a lot of nebulosity around that area, and without knowing how big it really is it seems like a tough object to observe.