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Horsehead nebula, what size telescope do i need to see it?
I would like to view the horsehead nebula, along with lots of other things, but I am not sure what size telescope to get, I don't want to spend a fortune though. Would a 4inch reflector do it or would I be better off with a refractor?
The Horsehead Nebula is one of the most difficult deep sky objects in the entire sky. I finally managed to observe it two years ago after fifty _years_ of trying. To do so, I had to travel to the Australian outback and use an 18-inch reflector and a Hydrogen Beta filter, and even then it was only the faintest of shadows on one of the faintest nebulae in the sky. That said, others have managed to see it, again under perfect conditions, with 20x80 binoculars. The source below is the best article I know on how to observe it.
As you'll see from Barbara's article, the secret of observing the Horsehead is not the telescope, but the eyepiece and filter. The Hydogen Beta filter alone costs almost a much as the entire _telescope_ you're asking about! The bottom line is that the Horsehead Nebula is a poor choice as a target for a beginner's telescope. You are guaranteed to be disappointed. Your question indicates that you need to do a lot more reading and observing with others' telescopes before you buy one yourself.
Here are a few web pages with good information on beginner's telescopes:
http://www.gaherty.ca/tme/TME0702_Buying_a_Telescope.pdf
http://www.scopereviews.com/begin.html
http://observers.org/beginner/j.r.f.beginner.html
For more advanced information, read Phil Harrington's Star Ware, 4th edition (Wiley).
You'll get the greatest value for your money with a Newtonian reflector on a Dobsonian mount, such as these:
http://www.telescope.com/control/category/~category_id=dobsonians/~pcategory=telescopes/~VIEW_INDEX=0/~VIEW_SIZE=1000000
http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/product.php?class1=1&class2=106
Buy from a store which specializes in telescopes and astronomy, either locally or online; don't buy from department stores, discount stores or eBay as mostly what they sell is junk. Find your local astronomy club and try out different telescopes at one of their star parties:
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/organizations
I strongly recommend that beginners steer clear of astrophotography until they have learned their way around the sky. Astrophotography is by far the most expensive and difficult area of amateur astronomy.
Many people who buy telescopes have no idea how to find interesting things to observe. A good introduction to finding things is NightWatch by Terence Dickinson (Firefly). A more advanced book is Star Watch by Phil Harrington (Wiley).
[Edit] After writing the above, I noticed that you are located in the U.K. I strongly doubt that there's a site in the entire country dark enough and clear enough to see the Horsehead. My observation was made in Australia, Barbara's in Texas, the others I know of in Florida: basically the darkest best skies in the entire world. So include travel if you plan to observe the Horsehead! As Larry says, there are _hundreds_ of deep sky objects easier to see than the Horsehead.
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