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(IAAC) Barnard's Loop, Naked Eye or Otherwise
From: Mel Bartels <mbartels@efn.org>
>I've never seen Barnard's Loop, but a few amateurs have
>reported this. Unaided eye observing is a lot of fun and very
rewarding - I encourage all to to try, and to spend time practicing the
ability.
Some friends and I have seen Barnard's Loop using an H-Beta filter and a
Pronto late last fall at Fremont Peak in California; it appeared as a
faint strand that could be traced several degrees along the eastern edge
of Orion. We did not try to see it naked eye or using a filter. I have
occasionally tried this technique on such objects as the Rosette and
North America Nebulae - the NA is pretty easy in most dark skies, but
the Rosette has always stymied me with or without a filter.
When I look at the Pleiades naked eye or filtered, all I see is a
scattering of 6 or 7 stars (if I'm lucky) that are lopsided and blurry -
astigmatism prevents high-definiton naked eye viewing. There are a few
guys out here who routinely count more than a dozen stars, though, and
sometimes as high as 16 or even more. Some wear glasses and some do
not.
Bruce Jensen
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