moon eye damage

[jason.p]

I remember when I first got my scope that I was warned not to observe the moon without a filter. I must admit, I had an unfiltered peep the other night, and I was temporarily blinded. It was almost as bad as looking at my favourite street light across the road.

Do you think the moon could cause any permanent damage, and should warnings be posted on any relevant threads?

[daz]

You are very unlikely to suffer permanent damage when looking at the moon. Many people use filters to cut down the light to make it easier to observe the features rather than as a safety measure.

[Stu]

I remember when I first got my scope that I was warned not to observe the moon without a filter. I must admit, I had an unfiltered peep the other night, and I was temporarily blinded. It was almost as bad as looking at my favourite street light across the road.

Do you think the moon could cause any permanent damage, and should warnings be posted on any relevant threads?

There is no chance of eye damage from the moon, it is not bright enough. Worst case it will dazzle you for a while so no need to worry :-)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ronin]

No chancew all you get is a residual image on the retina for 39-60 seconds.

Means you walk into things for a while, while still seeing a reverse moon image.

Great fun, if you haven't quite grown up.

[Tali]

EVen when you're grown up it can be fun...when there's no one else around to see you swinging left and right giggling uncontrollably 

[Merlin66]

As stated by others...definitely no risk of permanent damage to the eye.

[jason.p]

Thanks for replies. I think I'll stick with the filter. My set-up is right next to a garden pond, and staggering around half blinded could be embarrassing!! (And uncomfortable).

[RichM63]

J&B can help with practicing 'staggering around' on Moonless nights.

I don't have a filter, but do occasionally unbung the end cap and use that to stop down.

[bingevader]

Briefly, I used a moon filter when I first had the etx90, I didn't like it.

I haven't used one since.

I enjoy viewing the moon and do so on a regular basis.

Other than that brought on by advancing age, I have received no permanent damage.

Cheers

[Kropster]

I guess there must be an aperture that would gather enough light to cause damage, but I don't think it would be in the realm of amateur scopes.

[RCompassi]

No, you won't be blinded. The moon only reflects the sun light.

Looking at the moon is the same as looking at concrete lighted by the sun.

[Davey-T]

No, you won't be blinded. The moon only reflects the sun light.

Looking at the moon is the same as looking at concrete lighted by the sun.

Even less probably as concrete is usually whitish and the Moon is generally blackish, be different if it was a mirror

Dave

[trazor]

The moon only reflects the sun light.

So You need to watch out for Moon burn, if you are out long enough.

[Ruud]

I thought the Moon was about as black as asphalt. If so, that bright ball in the sky has a surface no brighter than a stretch of asphalt road during a sunny day.

[PeterW]

Moon through a 16" at low power, very contrary image, but blinded for a while. Doesn't seem to have done any lasting damage, got solar observing kit for that ;-)

PEterW

[L8-Nite]

For me, viewing the Moon is easier on the eyes when the outside lights are " ON ".

Edit: Try it.

[swamp thing]

I guess there must be an aperture that would gather enough light to cause damage, but I don't think it would be in the realm of amateur scopes.

No

The moons surface brightness doesn't change regardless of aperture. Its no brighter through my 20" Dob than it is when i look up at it with my unaided eye.  

[ScottS]

The only exception would be during an eclipse I guess. Then it would get dangerous.

[Ptarmigan]

I thought the Moon was about as black as asphalt. If so, that bright ball in the sky has a surface no brighter than a stretch of asphalt road during a sunny day.

Yes, almost but , :)

, just like looking at any sunliht scene with any binocular or telescope as various have said,,

but with slightly less atmospheric absorption,

not sure how much difference that would make, not a lot though else there would be a lot of blind amateur astronomers

Oh, hang on, I think I may have mis-counted my atmospheres ! :)

Dont dawdle on the tarmac, I think it'll be a bit tacky ?

[Ptarmigan]

Oh gosh, how time flies when you're having fun, I cant edit my post to add :-

Another way of looking at it (pun intended) is to photograph the full moon (or portion of the illuminated bit) and consider what f/ratio, shutter and ISO you used to get a good exposure.

Then look at exifs of typical snaps sent home by earthlings on their annual hols in Alicante

[Charic]

..........try removing the small aperture cap on the OTA dust cover, but leave the OTA cover in-place,  not only will this reduce the aperture somewhat, it WILL reduce the brightness of the Moon. Wearing Sunglasses  also helps, also looking at the Moon through thin cloud layer s helps reduce the dazzle. 

You may suffer Night blindness when looking at the Moon, but this is not permanent, and short  lived. No different to  a bright torch or car headlights  be shone  at the eyes.

[Ptarmigan]

..........try removing the small aperture cap on the OTA dust cover, but leave the OTA cover in-place,  not only will this reduce the aperture somewhat, it WILL reduce the brightness of the Moon.

That is cos it ALSO changes the f/ratio, not just the aperture.

[Charic]

........true, about f/20 on an Explorer,  f/24 on my Skyliner,  but as the Moon is so close  and bright, its not an issue  I worry about  for viewing. I just admire the reduction of brightness.

[Ptarmigan]

........true, about f/20 on an Explorer,  f/24 on my Skyliner,  but as the Moon is so close  and bright, its not an issue  I worry about  for viewing. I just admire the reduction of brightness.

Absolutly, couldnt agree more

and it usually more matches the aperture to our usual atmospheric cell size in the UK,

[John]

The reduction of effective aperture does lead to a reduction in resolvable detail too. My 12" dob will show some very fine detail on the lunar surface but those are lost when the scope is stopped down to a smaller aperture.