IC 1296 was one of the objects in a talk I recently gave. The talk gave the smallest aperture (that I could find recorded) in which each object had been seen. The record holder for IC 1296 was a 10" scope. I have seen it in my 14.5" scope. From my semi-rural site, it was not particularly easy. Sue To stop receiving all 'netastrocatalog' lists, use the Web form at: http://www.visualdeepsky.org/subscribe.html