Unsure about filters

[RiponJas]

Hi there. A very simple question for the enlightened people on here but still I need to as I haven't got a clue.  What filters should I be getting for most common use? Any recommendations for a moon filter? There seems to be billions of different ones and the choice appears overwhelming to be honest. 

Cheers in advance

Jas

[Uplooker]

Hi Jas,

I, and a lot of others do not bother with a moon filter. Just not required. If the moon is up and it’s your bag just view it. It is best when not full, as you will see way more detail along the terminator.

Also, if the moon is up it will severely limit the detail in DSOs that you can see. You could still view doubles and planetary nebulae. Planets are also uneffected by the moon.

Back to your original question, a starter filter for DSOs, I would still suggest a UHC filter. It will make nebulae stand out more and also make some visible in the first place. Bear in mind that viewing DSOs is very dependent on quite how dark your skies are are.

There are various manufactures of UHC filters. Lumicon used to be the recommended one, but the jury is currently out as they have recently been taken over by ANother manufacturer. Baader are also a good make. Word of note - when looking at filters you need to look at what wave lengths they pass/ block- dependant on what it is that you want to view.

To reinforce what I said earlier, a good initial filter would be a UHC.

 

Hope that helps, plenty of others will pipe up with their suggestions.

[Charic]

I have one Moon filter that get's little if any use these days ( not for sale ) preferring to use Sun glasses instead, or simply reducing my scopes aperture if the Moon is too bright ?

I've also considered  a Blue filter for use on Jupiter.

What I have found informative is this simple guide to whats what and why.

https://agenaastro.com/choosing-a-color-planetary-filter.html

 

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi Jas and welcome to SGL. 

For the moon filter, I would invest in variable polarising filter. This is the one I use --->  note: only available in 1.25" in this configuration.

For planetary viewing I use either a Baader neodymium or Baader contrast filters. They cost about £50.00 GBP each. @Uplooker has suggested above... a UHC. These are not cheap either.

#82A's [light blue] are quite good performers for planetary viewing if you are on a very tight budget. They cost about £12.00 GBP. 

 

[RiponJas]

Cheers for that help good people. Been reading a bit and it makes more sense now. Shall look at some retailers in a while. 

Once again many thanks. 

Jas

[RT65CB-SWL]

Just an update to my previous post...