observing moon with dobsonian

[DRT]

The reality is that the various parts of the human body react to the environment we live in differently from person to person. Some people can eat raw chillis without screaming, either immediately or a few hours later, and others can't.

There will be a wide range of relative sensitivity to the glare from the moon amongst those who choose to look at it. Some find it uncomfortable and some don't. It's just the same as the chillis. Conditioning your eyes to deal with the issue will certainly help, but only for some and only for those who dedicate enough time to do it.

If a significant proportion of the community didn't need filters to comfortably look at the moon there wouldn't be a small industry dedicated to flogging them to us at £??(?) each

[John]

If a significant proportion of the community didn't need filters to comfortably look at the moon there wouldn't be a small industry dedicated to flogging them to us at £??(?) each

Quite true 

I seem to have survived 30 mins of unfiltered lunar observing and switched straight over to spot E & F Trapezium and the SN in M82 as well. Amazing !. I must bequeath my eyes to medical science while figuring out what to do with the £15 or so I've saved by not having to buy a moon filter 

[DRT]

Quite true 

I seem to have survived 30 mins of unfiltered lunar observing and switched straight over to spot E & F Trapezium and the SN in M82 as well. Amazing !. I must bequeath my eyes to medical science while figuring out what to do with the £15 or so I've saved by not having to buy a moon filter 

Are you sure that SN you saw wasn't just the imaginary white light coming fromthe burned out cells on your retina?

[John]

Are you sure that SN you saw wasn't just the imaginary white light coming fromthe burned out cells on your retina?

Quite sure 

Mag 10.6 is my estimate of it's brightness BTW so it's still holding up well.

[gbarnett]

Hi,

If your eyepieces are 1.25" it might be an idea to get 1.25" barlow where the end can be unscrewed to fit on your eyepiece giving a 1.5x mag.

So, if your 9mm with a 2x barlow gives 333X as in John's post on the previous page then at 1.5x this would give 250x mag.

Then if you find 333x is too much you can switch to 250x.

I've done this with an 11MM ES82 and 1.25" Revelation barlow (GSO clone I think).

In my 8" dob this gives me approx 110x, 165X and 220x.

It was a relatively cheap barlow (about £35 ish) and I've found it useful to see what focal length of eyepiece I want to get next at the high mag range.

Graham.

[bingevader]

I'd gradually build up a range of high power EPs as John has suggested.

I don't use a filter either. 

Cheers

[AlexB67]

I was viewing (a tiny little bit of) the moon at 700x tonight- Baader Zoom @ 8mm on a 2x Barlow with my CPC 1100 - it was very clear but very bright and I had to use a filter. I had a look for an American flag but couldn't find one

For fun when you come to do the sums  you'll find a huge mirror is needed, not to mind the atmosphere. Lunar resolution of a 10 inch scope is about 1 - 2 km. Just for a laugh I  recall working that out ( on a very simple basis ) Suffice it to say, it is a Biiiiiiiig mirror to see anything on the scale of a flag