What filters work for direct observation?

[notFritzArgelander]

Whoever you are referring to more likely has a life that is quite pleasant and gratifying to them which is simply not understood by you. The pairing of "nothing personal" with the personal attack "someone without a life" is a hilarious example of self contradiction. Logic jokes are a genre of humor that is quite fertile
I am not sure how been passionate about astronomy and overdoing it is "no life". What is the life then, Facebook and watching TV?

All that one can see on this board is the passion and effort devoted to astronomy. Maybe there is a glimmer of other passions in off topic areas. Speaking only for myself I also spend considerable time making music, lactic ranked user with 5000 posts and 9000 hearts is just someone without a life.

Well, I was not thinking of this board at all, or of a couple others that are even smaller. It was the one big board.

What I like about The Sky Searchers is specifically that it is a smaller community with a dedicated core of writers. The sociology of large groups is different than that for small societies. I just did not keep that in the front of my mind at the time. It was my own failing that I took a set of comments prima facie without searching further. As I said, what happens often is that the first opinion sets the stage. You don't get a lot of discussion back and forth. Though, on that note, in this thread, I see that we do have some differences of opinion based on individual experiences.

What I mean by "nothing personal" was just specifically "not referring to anyone here" i.e., present company excluded. I would have made the same exception just for example on the SPA board. It's all very subdued there. As it is here.

I like the fact that differences of opinion are valued here. Observing is a very individual effort due to physiological differences and preferences. One of the healthy things about this venue as opposed to others is that one doesn't often see the need establish one view as correct. It's why I contributed nothing or almost nothing to other places and put more effort here.

[Bigzmey]

Though, on that note, in this thread, I see that we do have some differences of opinion based on individual experiences.

Like with EPs observers have their own preferences in filters. However, if we are talking about nebula filters for visual observing it comes down to four types of filters: broadband (Lumicon DeepSky, Baader Moon and Sky Glow, etc), narrowband (Lumicon UHC, Orion UltraBlock), OIII and H-beta. As you notice from discussion above, some prefer OIII and H-Beta, some UHC and OIII. If you get all four you will cover all the bases. Conveniently, manual filter wheels have 5 positions (one for filter-free observing).

[mikemarotta]

Dug my filters out, besides the Mars, Moon and coloured ones, I have 2 Lumicons, the Olll and a Deep Sky.

Thanks for the recommendations. I went to the Farpoint website and reviewed the product line. I captured some screenshots for my own records. They are on the wishlist.

Best Regards,
Mike M.

[j.gardavsky]

...
I hear you Bill. Messing with filters in the dark could be annoying in particular when you have a manual mount and the target is rotating away. My answer to that is a filter wheel. Once you make it part of your setup changing filters is fast and pleasant. It also make blinking much easier to.

Andrey,

glad to see, that we both do have two filter wheels. And we both know why.
My both filter wheels are ATIK, what are yours?

JG

[j.gardavsky]

Out of the drawers:

2"
Meade Narrowband Nebular filter #91ON , PN 102947 with a printout from a spectrophotometer, not just hand written numpers on a blue box
OIII 10nm Baader #2458396 (from the first manufactured series)
CLS Astronomik
H-Alpha 6nm CCD Astronomik # 0100001316
H-Alpha 35nm CCD Baader #2458381

1.25"
OIII 10nm Baader #2458395, pair
OIII 12nm Astronomik Profi, S/N 000892 (from the first manufactured series)
OIII 5nm Astrodon S/N 37 A/4 (from the first manufactured series) supervised by Don Goldman

H-Beta 8.5nm Baader #2458425, pair
H-Beta Astronomik Profi S/N 000200 and 000234 pair, (from the first manufactured series)

UHC Astronomik 002935 (standard), 003364 (Profi), pair
UHC-S Baader #2458275

390nm - 500nm KP 500 Carl Zeiss West
380nm - 480nm Balzers (Liechtenstein)
blue(RGB)CCD Baader #2458470B, pair

Neodymium Moon & Skyglow Baader #2458305A pair
420nm - 680nm UV/IR block Baader #2459207A
470nm blue bright color filter Baader #2458303
470nm #47 blue dark color filter TS (Taiwan)
500nm blue/green color filter Carl Zeiss West
540nm Solar Continuum 10nm passband Baader #2458390
green(RGBB)CCD Baader #2458470G
#8 yellow long pass filter TS (Taiwan), pair
yellow long pass filter 495nm Baader #2458301

H-Alpha 35nm CCD Baader #2458381

Leitz long pass filters (Kantenfilter) mounted on sledges:
K 430nm, K 460nm K 510nm, K 530nm, K570nm, K580nm, K590nm, K610nm

Narrow passband filters for optics testing:
440nm Balzers (Liechtenstein)
460nm Balzers (Liechtenstein)
620nm Balzers (Liechtenstein)
436nm Eppendorfer
578nm Eppendorfer
623nm Eppendorfer
562.8nm Heliopan (Japan)
405nm Carl Zeiss Jena
436nm Carl Zeiss Jena

One special order I have placed, will be manufactured by Astronomik, and delivered in September.

JG

[Bigzmey]

...
I hear you Bill. Messing with filters in the dark could be annoying in particular when you have a manual mount and the target is rotating away. My answer to that is a filter wheel. Once you make it part of your setup changing filters is fast and pleasant. It also make blinking much easier to.

Andrey,

glad to see, that we both do have two filter wheels. And we both know why.
My both filter wheels are ATIK, what are yours?

JG

Hi JG. Those are Astromania brand and loaded with DSO filters. I also have a 3d wheel from Solomark loaded with planetary/Lunar filters which is switched in as necessary. I bet your wheels and mine are made on the same factory.

[WilliamPaolini]

I hear you Bill. Messing with filters in the dark could be annoying in particular when you have a manual mount and the target is rotating away. My answer to that is a filter wheel. Once you make it part of your setup changing filters is fast and pleasant. It also make blinking much easier to.

Yes...I know...just been hesitant to add yet another accessory on the scope. When I am planetary observing I have no issue with messing with filters as I approach planetary with a different mindset than DSO or general observing. So if I get a filter wheel would need a 2" one and one that could hold at least 4 filters. I was thinking at one time a filter slide, but those I have seen that are reasonably priced (not an accessory I want to spend too much on) have the filters exposed that are not in the light path. That is a non-starter for me as dew would quickly form on them if not covered in the winter months here. So guess a wheel it will have to be. Have any recommendations?

[ARock]

I have had the colored filters for a while, unused until I used a couple of them for the Mars viewing last year. I have also used the yellow one for a yellow sun for solar projection/sun funnel.

For DSOs I only have the DGM NPB filter which allows little more than a OIII. I use it almost exclusively for Planetary Nebulae from my Bortle 7/8 skies. It made the PN NGC 2438 visible inside M46 with my 8" Dob.
It also improves the view slightly for M8 and M42 in my skies.

Other than that I have a variable polarizing filter for the Moon.

[Bigzmey]

I hear you Bill. Messing with filters in the dark could be annoying in particular when you have a manual mount and the target is rotating away. My answer to that is a filter wheel. Once you make it part of your setup changing filters is fast and pleasant. It also make blinking much easier to.

Yes...I know...just been hesitant to add yet another accessory on the scope. When I am planetary observing I have no issue with messing with filters as I approach planetary with a different mindset than DSO or general observing. So if I get a filter wheel would need a 2" one and one that could hold at least 4 filters. I was thinking at one time a filter slide, but those I have seen that are reasonably priced (not an accessory I want to spend too much on) have the filters exposed that are not in the light path. That is a non-starter for me as dew would quickly form on them if not covered in the winter months here. So guess a wheel it will have to be. Have any recommendations?

Astromania 2" 5 positions wheel works nicely for me. It sits on the 150ST frac in the photo above.



To save on the focuser travel I have removed 2" EP holder and connected the wheel straight to the 2" diagonal.

[kt4hx]

I have an Orion O-III, Orion UltraBlock, DGM NPB, Baader HaB and Orion Sky Glow. I do not use them regularly because the vast majority of my observing time is spent galaxy hunting. That said, they are always in my case in the event I wish to use them.

As JG mentioned something like the UltraBlock or NPB (both narrow-band nebula filters) are good for trying to pick out H-II regions in a galaxy, or for emission nebulae in our own galaxy, as well as some planetary nebulae. The O-III reigns supreme in terms of SN remnants and planetary nebulae. But I also sometimes have compared the view of an emission nebula between a narrow-band and an O-III. They both work well on M42 and M43 for example, but they render the view differently. The HaB is useful, but for a more select and smaller group of object. For example, NGC 1499 the California Nebula in Perseus, is really helped with the HaB, as is the Horsehead Nebula in Orion.

Intersestinly, I have tried the Orion SKy Glow, a wide-band Light Pollution Reduction (LPR) filter, on various objects. It is not that effective visually at reducing the impact of sky glow, and the more light polluted one's location is the less effective it becomes. However, I have found that with some objects it can render them very subtly more apparent. But the improvement is so slight that many less experienced observers may not even notice the subtle contrast boost. I have seen this at both a Bortle 5 site as well as a Bortle 2. But again, it is so slight , and one would never see an object with an LPR filter that they can't see without it, as it simply is not a panacea for light pollution.

That is my experience, though as I said, I am not a regular filter user.

[GCoyote]

Very enlightening thread. My thanks to Mike for the OP and to all the respondents for context and insight.
Looks like I'm going shopping this morning.

Clear skies!