When I stated that astronomers could not see Kepler-16b through a telescope, I was referring to the planet and not the star. (the star is designated as Kepler-16B, with a capital B, whereas the planet is designated Kepler-16b)
Sorry about the confusion.
When I stated that astronomers could not see Kepler-16b through a telescope, I was referring to the planet and not the star. And I was just trying to be funny with my dunce response ;-)
I didn't read the article closely enough to see whether the astronomers actually caught a visual glimpse of Kepler-16b, but it should be clear to anyone that no one's going to spot a planet outside of our own solar system with just a pair of binoculars.