You are not logged in. [Login] Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online FAQ · Calendar

Observing >> Lunar Observing Previous   Index   Next   Threaded

Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all) amicus sidera Carpal Tunnel Reged: 10/14/11 Loc: East of the Sun, West of the M... Re: Which moon filter [Re: Jon Isaacs]       #5338080 - 07/27/12 09:28 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Quote: Actually - at low magnification - the brightness of the lunar surface is similar to a terrestrial landscape seen in full sunlight with the naked eye Some stuff to consider: I suggest the moon is about as bright at night as it is during the day... Not so bright. Citing L. Rudaux and G. De Vaucouleurs in Astronomie Larousse, I'm given to understand that the average albedo of the moon is roughly equivalent to a freshly-paved asphalt road surface. Post Extras:       droid rocketman Reged: 08/29/04 Loc: Conneaut, Ohio Re: Which moon filter [Re: amicus sidera]       #5338902 - 07/27/12 06:53 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I have a regular moon filter when the moons no to bright, I als have a variable polarizing filter I use when its really bright, but I also use a Olll filter . A broad spetrum filter helps some. To each theyre own. Post Extras:       Scott in NC Mad Hatter Reged: 03/05/05 Loc: NC Re: Which moon filter [Re: Tim2723]       #5339510 - 07/28/12 05:55 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: For me, any loss of contrast is more than compensated with the ability to simply view the Moon comfortably. I usually use either a VPF or nothing. It's probably been at least 5 or 6 years, if not more, since I last used my 13% ND filter (may have even sold it, not really sure). Post Extras:       coopman Carpal Tunnel Reged: 04/23/06 Loc: South Louisiana Re: Which moon filter [Re: Scott in NC]       #5340552 - 07/28/12 07:22 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I have used an orange filter with good results on occasion. It seemed to both reduce the brightness and increase the contrast. If you've got one, give it a try. Post Extras:       2591 super member Reged: 03/21/09 Loc: Queensland Australia Re: Which moon filter [Re: coopman]       #5353986 - 08/05/12 11:28 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   i had a six inch f/8 acro refractor, a light green filter did wonders. Enhanced contrast a lot. Post Extras:       azure1961p Postmaster Reged: 01/17/09 Loc: USA Re: Which moon filter [Re: 2591]       #5355795 - 08/07/12 12:29 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Ill bet that light green filter ate up any violet fringing, aside from it being ideal for the light sensitivety of the eye. Pete Post Extras:       Tim2723 The Moon Guy Reged: 02/19/04 Loc: Northern New Jersey Re: Which moon filter [Re: azure1961p]       #5355813 - 08/07/12 12:44 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Color filters have the dual advantage of helping correct chromatic aberration while reducing transmission, so you get a double-bang for the buck. Personally, I like a more natural color (red especially freaks me out for some reason), but color filters are a useful option as many of us already have them from those kits that always seem to be one sale somewhere. They often give a useful contrast boost for some features. I find green and orange helpful as well. I sometimes stacked an anti-fringing filter with a light green on my f/5 which gave remarkable results, if a little weird looking. Post Extras:       brianb11213 Postmaster Reged: 02/25/09 Loc: 55.215N 6.554W Re: Which moon filter [Re: Tim2723]       #5355908 - 08/07/12 03:12 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Color filters have the dual advantage of helping correct chromatic aberration while reducing transmission, so you get a double-bang for the buck. Triple, actually: the atmospheric prismatic dispersion which affects viewing of all objects which aren't at the zenith - and becomes really obvious with larger scopes when viewing objects closer to the horizon than the zenith - is also controlled. When working with a refractor, a green filter has the added advantage of working in the region where the scope is best corrected for spherical as well as for chromatic aberration. But a red filter has the effect of steadying the seeing more. Red in bad seeing, green in good seeing, blue never. Post Extras:       Tim2723 The Moon Guy Reged: 02/19/04 Loc: Northern New Jersey Re: Which moon filter [Re: brianb11213]       #5356120 - 08/07/12 09:16 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The only time we used to use blue filters was in searching for TLP (or LTP if you prefer), blinking back and forth between red and blue. Post Extras:       cncb Carpal Tunnel Reged: 02/21/08 Re: Which moon filter [Re: Tim2723]       #5356237 - 08/07/12 10:23 AM Attachment (31 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   i use a william optics vr-1 filter for my 5" skywatcher refractor.The CA,especially when doing prime focus imaging was really annoying.Now i use it all the time observing the moon as well as the planets.This comparison image is pretty close to what i see CA-wise.The filter introduce a slightly warmer hue/color tone,but i prefer it that way.The contrast gain is noticeable on the moon and jupiter. Post Extras:       Tim2723 The Moon Guy Reged: 02/19/04 Loc: Northern New Jersey Re: Which moon filter [Re: cncb]       #5356292 - 08/07/12 11:07 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The VR-1 is my favorite too (for anti-fringing, not a Moon filter). I use it with my 4" f/5 Celestron (the smaller cousin of your scope). Does a great job and even allows some fairly decent views of the Moon at higher mags. Your pics look very much like the weather vane on my neighbor's roof that I use to align my finder! NOTE TO NEWCOMERS: The William Optics VR-1 is not specifically a Moon filter, but reduces chromatic aberration in achromatic refractors when viewing bright objects like the Moon and Venus, or when used for daytime spotting such as birdwatching. It does not dim the view significantly as a Moon filter does, but helps control the annoying violet haze associated with achromatic refractors at higher magnifications. Post Extras:       Sarkikos Postmaster Reged: 12/18/07 Loc: Suburban Maryland, USA Re: Which moon filter [Re: Corky]       #5356464 - 08/07/12 01:09 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Corky, Use a filter when the Moon is near Full. A red filter will bring out the crater rays. Blue will show albedo spots better. (You have an SCT, so you really don't have to be concerned about possible side effects due to interactions of color filters with chromatic aberration in the telescope.) But if you are observing near the terminator, it's best to go filterless. The Moon will not appear so bright if you limit your observation to the terminator. Also, if the seeing is good, a filter might prevent you from teasing out the finer surface details. Or you could increase the magnification. This will make the Moon appear less bright. But if you have eye floaters - like I do - the narrower exit pupil produced by higher power will make them even more obvious and annoying. Or you could use a binoviewer. A binoviewer will reduce the lunar brightness and make eye floaters less obvious. Contrarian advice - which nevertheless works and makes sense: Keep your eyes as close to daylight adaptation as possible. Part of the reason that the Moon appears so bright in your telescope at night ... is because it is night! Your eyes have adjusted to the darkness. Of course, they haven't adjusted as deeply as they would if there were a moonless night. But they have adjusted to a mesopic level, somewhere between photopic (daylight adapted) and scotopic (deeply dark adapted). As an experiment, try observing the Moon when is it up during the day. It will appear rather washed out and dim to your eyes, even when viewed through your telescope. That's because your eyes are photopically adapted. The Moon has not changed, the telescope has not changed, but your eyes have! One way to keep your eyes closer to photopic when observing the Moon at night, is to stare for a few seconds at the reflection on a white sheet of paper from a bright white-light flashlight. (Do NOT stare directly into the flashlight!) Do this every ten minutes or so, and your eyes will feel much more comfortable viewing the Moon through your telescope. It's even more important to do the bright-white-light trick when observing bright planets, as it can help you see more contrast, detail and color. Mike Post Extras:       REC Carpal Tunnel Reged: 10/20/10 Loc: NC Re: Which moon filter [Re: Sarkikos]       #5356480 - 08/07/12 01:21 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I only use a ND filter when it's around full. Also from my backyard, I will leave the porch light on or kitchen light to keep my eyes from dark adaptation. Post Extras:       Tim2723 The Moon Guy Reged: 02/19/04 Loc: Northern New Jersey Re: Which moon filter [Re: REC]       #5356487 - 08/07/12 01:27 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Using white light when observing the Moon is also great for sketching. Post Extras:       Sarkikos Postmaster Reged: 12/18/07 Loc: Suburban Maryland, USA Re: Which moon filter [Re: REC]       #5356492 - 08/07/12 01:30 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Ambient light can help, but it can also hinder observation if it shines directly into your eyes or your scope's optics. A little bright white-light flashlight will have a more powerful effect. It's also something you can carry with you if you want to observe away from your house. Mike Post Extras:       Tim2723 The Moon Guy Reged: 02/19/04 Loc: Northern New Jersey Re: Which moon filter [Re: Sarkikos]       #5356496 - 08/07/12 01:32 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Yeah, light hitting the glass can cause all kinds of nasty reflections, and God knows what you'll think you see. Post Extras:       Sarkikos Postmaster Reged: 12/18/07 Loc: Suburban Maryland, USA Re: Which moon filter [Re: Tim2723]       #5356500 - 08/07/12 01:34 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Tim2723, Quote: Using white light when observing the Moon is also great for sketching. Yep. It just makes sense. There was a controversy years ago about the "Red Letter" edition of the Rukl Moon Atlas. Some observers thought this was a defect of the atlas. How could you read the red letters under astronomical red-lights? Why would anyone need to? Why use red-lights when you're looking at the Moon? You're not going to be deeply dark-adapted in any case. Just use a white light! Of course, I saved mucho dinero by buying one of the "defective" Red Letter Rukl's! Mike Post Extras:       Tim2723 The Moon Guy Reged: 02/19/04 Loc: Northern New Jersey Re: Which moon filter [Re: Sarkikos]       #5356511 - 08/07/12 01:40 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I remember the Red Letter Rukl's. Silly business that. BTW, it's just Tim. The numbers are silent. Post Extras:       Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all)

Previous   Index   Next   Threaded

Extra information 1 registered and 7 anonymous users are browsing this forum. Moderator:  THEPLOUGH  Print Thread Forum Permissions       You cannot start new topics       You cannot reply to topics       HTML is disabled       UBBCode is enabled Thread views: 2799 Jump to *Announcements and News* -----   Cloudy Nights Announcements   Discussion of CN Articles, Reviews, and Reports   Celestial Events*General Astronomy* -----   Beginners Forum   General Observing and Astronomy   Outreach   Light Pollution*Equipment Discussions* -----   ATM, Optics and DIY Forum   Binoculars   Binoviewers   Cats & Casses   Classic Telescopes   Equipment   Eyepieces   Mounts   Observatories   Reflectors   Refractors    Video and Electronically Assisted Astronomy*Astrophotography and Sketching* -----   Beginning and Intermediate Imaging   Film Astrophotography   DSLR & Digital Camera Astro Imaging & Processing   CCD Imaging & Processing   Solar System Imaging & Processing   Sketching   Astro Imaging/Sketching Contest *Observing* -----   NEO   Planetary and Solar System Observing   Lunar Observing   Deep Sky Observing   Double Star Observing   Solar   Variable Star Observing and Radio Astronomy*Telescope Specific Forums* -----   Celestron NexStar    NexStar GPS / CPC Telescopes   Questar Forum   Meade ACF/RCX / LX / GPS    Meade ETX*Speciality Forums* -----   Arizona Science and Astronomy Expo   NEAF (Northeast Astronomy Forum) and NEAIC (Northeast Astro Imaging Conference)   AstroArt   Astronomy Clubs and Star Parties   Astronomy Software & Computers   AstroWebsites   Science! Astronomy & Space Exploration, and Others   Space Rocks   Stellar Media*Swap and Shop* -----   Shop and Swap Audio Components*CN Feedback and Vendor Announcements* -----   Vendor and Group Announcements*International Year of Astronomy 2009 - Forums are now closed.* -----   IYA Archive Info

CN Forums Home