Could I Have Seen the Horsehead?

  • Context: High School 
  • Thread starter Thread starter NerfMonkey
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the observation of a faint light blue 'smudge' in the night sky, which the original poster speculates might be the Horsehead Nebula. Participants explore the identification of this observation, considering various astronomical features and equipment used, including the Orion Nebula and the necessity of filters for viewing certain celestial objects.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • The original poster describes seeing a faint blue smudge that resembled the Horsehead Nebula, located near the Orion constellation.
  • One participant suggests that the observation was likely the Orion Nebula, which is known to have four stars in its central region and is visible through binoculars.
  • Another participant notes that the Horsehead Nebula is generally not visible through a telescope without a Hydrogen-Alpha filter, although some amateur astronomers claim to have seen it under dark conditions.
  • The original poster confirms they were not using a filter and describes their experience with different eyepieces, which changed the appearance of the stars they observed.
  • A later reply identifies the stars in the Orion Nebula as the "Trapezium," highlighting their distinctive shape.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether the original observation was the Horsehead Nebula or the Orion Nebula, with multiple competing views presented regarding the identification of the observed object.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes uncertainty regarding the visibility of the Horsehead Nebula under light-polluted conditions and the effectiveness of different eyepieces and filters in observing celestial objects.

NerfMonkey
Messages
36
Reaction score
1
The other night I was outside observing with my telescope (12" Zhumell Dob) and I saw Mars, the Pleiades, several random constellations and some bright blue planet/star. I also found a small light blue 'smudge' though, and after about five minutes it still hadn't moved and appeared to have four or five faint stars in the center. It was so faint that I had to use averted vision just to see it clearly but it appeared to have a definite shape and maybe it was my imagination, but it looked a bit like the Horsehead Nebula.

I'm in a fairly light-polluted area and I know the Horsehead is pretty far away, so my question is, could that have been what I was seeing or was it probably something else?

Thanks.

EDIT: I should mention that it was fairly close to the three bright stars in the Orion constellation, but it was to the lower right of them, not the left as the Wikipedia page said.
 
Last edited:
Astronomy news on Phys.org
It sounds to me like you were looking at the orion nebula itself. It has 4 stars in the central, brightest part, and is visible in binoculars. The Horsehead has one bright star near it, but is generally not visible through an eyepiece. The Orion nebula is in the center of Orion's sword and the cluster of 4 stars is visible as the middle "star" in the sword to the naked eye.

What is your location and what eyepiece were you using? The Orion nebula shows up very easily in a telescope like yours. Make sure you are using a low power (long focal length) eyepiece to view it though.
 
Are you using any filter?
 
What you describe sounds exactly like the orion nebula. To be able to see the actual horsehead, you need a Hydrogen-Alpha filter, it's not visible to the eye. Although some amature astronomers have said they were able to see it under dark sky conditions, I personally haven't been able to see anything with my telescope even when observing under fairly dark skies.

The bright cloud to the bottom of this picture shows you what you probably saw, and the horsehead which is just underneath the left star of those three stars in orion's belt.

http://www.robertreeves.com/k42horse.jpg"
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I wasn't using a filter, and first was looking at it through a 32mm Plössl and then switched over to a 9mm to get a closer look. With the 32 it looked like there were only two or three stars and with the 9 it looked more like four or five in a trapezoidal shape. I think Russ is right because I Googled Orion Nebula and found a picture that shows it in exactly the same spot as I was seeing it.

Thanks.
 
Btw, those stars are called the "Trapezium" because of that distinctive shape.
 

Similar threads

Stargazing Is There an Unidentified Object Near the Horsehead Nebula?
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
2K
High School Vulpecula, pulsars and neutron stars
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
2K
Undergrad Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients (LFBOTs)
  • · Replies 0 ·
Replies
0
Views
1K
Stargazing Astro Image Stacking (optimize DSS image stacking and post processing)
  • · Replies 43 ·
2
Replies
43
Views
12K
High School Neutron star 4U 1820-30 spins at 716 revolutions per second
  • · Replies 0 ·
Replies
0
Views
3K
High School NGC 4590, more than 1,400 stars found in various evolutionary stages
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
High School ASASSN-15lh (aka SN 2015L), a superluminal supernova, or hypernova?
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
1K
Stargazing Is it nebulosity or an artefact?
  • · Replies 28 ·
Replies
28
Views
4K
High School Distance of Stars / Size of the Universe calculation
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
High School What Could Explain the Mysterious Beam of Plasma Seen in the Sky in 2017?
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
3K