Stellarium And Object Data Question

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Refractordude
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Stellarium And Object Data Question

#1

Post by Refractordude »


When looking at the Stellarium data about an object, how would I know what type of filter to use? Thinking about getting an OIII filter, but maybe I should get a UHC filter first. Since all these filters have the same goal, why do they have different colors? Left click the image. Thanks all
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AstroBee United States of America
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Re: Stellarium And Object Data Question

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Post by AstroBee »


First of all, An OIII and a UHC filter do not have the same goal. A UHC filter is a blocking filter that blocks mainly sodium and mercury vapor lights but still lets a very wide bandwidth of light through. As more and more communities switch over to LED lighting which has a very wide spectrum, these types of UHC filters will work less and less well.
An OIII filter is a very narrowband filter that blocks almost all light except in the roughly 500nm range. Ha lets only light around 656nm through and SII only lets light through around 672nm.

As for figuring out which filter is best for a specific object, I don't think Stellarium is suited for that.
I've found what I usually do is decide what I want to image, then go somewhere like Astrobin.com, search for that item, find others that have imaged it and look at their details to see which filter they used.
Eventually, you'll learn the differences between reflection nebulas, like M42, good with broadband filters (LRGB) or emission nebulas like IC434 (The Horsehead Nebula) That shows up better in Ha light.
Greg M.~ "Ad Astra per Aspera"
Scopes: Celestron EdgeHD14", Explore Scientific ED152CF & ED127 APO's, StellarVue SV70T, Classic Orange-Tube C-8, Lunt 80mm Ha double-stack solar scope.
Mounts: Astro-Physics Mach One, iOptron CEM70EC Mount, iOptron ZEQ25 Mount.
Cameras: ZWO ASI2600mm Pro, ZWO 2600MC Pro, ZWO ASI1600mm
Filters: 36mm Chroma LRGB & 3nm Ha, OIII, SII, L-Pro, L-eXtreme
Eyepieces: 27mm TeleVue Panoptic, 4mm TeleVue Radian, Explore Scientific 82° 30mm, 6.7mm , Baader 13mm Hyperion, Explore Scientific 70° 10mm, 15mm, 20mm, Meade 8.8mm UWA
Software: N.I.N.A., SharpCapPro, PixInsight, PhotoShop CC, Phd2, Stellarium
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Re: Stellarium And Object Data Question

#3

Post by KathyNS »


There are a couple of different types of Oiii filter, so make sure you are talking about and buying the right type.

A narrowband Oiii filter is for imaging only. It passes an extremely narrow band of wavelengths, usually requiring longer exposures. I suspect that this is what AstroBee was referring to.

There are also Oiii filters made for visual use. They have a much broader pass band than a narrowband imaging filter. They are used for enhancing DSO contrast when viewing through an eyepiece. I suspect this is what you are looking for. I have used an Oiii visual filter and was astounded at how much it improved the view of DSOs at the eyepiece.

An Oiii filter will, of course, work best on targets that are rich in Oiii. Planetary nebulae are rich in Oiii. Emission nebulae have Oiii to a lesser extent. Galaxies would be poor targets for an Oiii filter.
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DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
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Re: Stellarium And Object Data Question

#4

Post by Star Dad »


One clue in Stellarium - you should notice that they refer to some (not all) nebulae as HII or Ha or Hb, etc. In some instances I have had good results by using an appropriate filter. I haven't found any references (so far) for SII in stellarium (I don't yet own one, but am intending on getting one soon). I don't know of any reference one can go to, except online searching. Wikipedia has some information on some objects. You now have me wondering if anyone has published a comprehensive catalog of nebulae and what filters to use. If there is none, perhaps I should think about making one up. I have kept track of my use of filters on objects (and exposure times). I am NOT particularly happy with my overall experience in narrowband imaging. I suspect I need darker skies. They say that the Moon should not affect imaging in narrowband but I see a distinctly lighter background than on moonless nights.
"To be good is not enough when you dream of being great"

Orion 203mm/f4.9/1000mm, converted TASCO 114mm/f9/1000mm to steam punk, Meade 114mm/f9/1000, Coronado PST, Orion EQ-G, Ioptron Mini-Tower and iEQ30, Canon 70D, ASI120MM,ASI294MC, Ioptron SkyHunter
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