Filters?

[bcfcciderhead]

Ok, as funds are going to be a bit tight for the next month or 2 i have to wait to buy some more astro goodies and first on my list will be some filters, light pollution and a good alrounder for nebulae, thinking of the skywatcher OIII.

My question is....as you can see in my sig i have a few filters, these work well on planets, as intended, but will any of these work and help to show more of nebulae? not tried any of yet but will if the clouds break tonight, but thought i'l ask before i try.

[Moonshane]

Hi Dave

I have never really got on with colour filters but others like them. I have a Baader Neodymium, Castell Oiii and UHC and also a couple of neutral density moon filters.

As a rule I prefer an unfiltered view of all targets, including the moon even with my 12" dob.

I have not used the moon filters for ages and sold my colour filters a while back too.

I find that the Baader Neodymium is really excellent on Jupiter and I believe it's good on the moon too but not used it on that yet. It also apparently reduces the general glow of the moon as well as light pollution, enhancing the sky generally for many targets where like most you have some LP.

On the above basis I would highly recommend this filter.

I would also highly recommend the Castell filters. They stood up pretty well to Astronomik filters which are about 3x the price. The Castell are £48 for the 2" delivered. Both the Oiii and the UHC have different characters, the former being much more aggressive than the latter. They both make star green coloured too but really bring out detail even at dark sites.

Unfortunately, nothing other than dark sites can help with galaxies and reflection nebula as these 'emit' light in all wavelengths (the Baader may help a little if there's LP).

I hope this gives you a start in the thinking process. I'd recommend 2" filters as then you are not constantly changing every time you change and eyepiece in the dark......