USING FILTERS FOR LUNAR/PLANETARY OBSERVATION

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WilliamPaolini United States of America
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USING FILTERS FOR LUNAR/PLANETARY OBSERVATION

#1

Post by WilliamPaolini »


USING FILTERS FOR LUNAR/PLANETARY OBSERVATION
by WilliamPaolini

1. Overview For the vast majority of my astronomical observing life, over 50 years, I have never used filters of any kind for planets or otherwise. But after half a century of reading the extraordinary claims by manufacturers and observing organizations alike about the many benefits of the various color...
Read more...
-Bill

U.S.A.F. Veteran - Visual Amateur Astronomer since 1966 - Fully Retired since 2019
8" f/5 Newt - Lunt 152 f/7.9 - TSA 102 f/8 - Vixen 81S f/7.7 - P.S.T. - Pentax 65ED II - Nikon 12x50 AE
Pentax XWs - Baader Morpheus - Takahashi LEs - Edmund RKEs - BST Starguiders - 6ZAO-II/5XO/4Abbe
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Re: USING FILTERS FOR LUNAR/PLANETARY OBSERVATION

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Post by notFritzArgelander »


Looks to be a valuable addition to the discussion of filters.... Thanks for your efforts.
Scopes: Refs: Orion ST80, SV 80EDA f7, TS 102ED f11 Newts: AWB 130mm, f5, Z12 f5; Cats: VMC110L, Intes MK66,VMC200L f9.75 EPs: KK Fujiyama Orthoscopics, 2x Vixen NPLs (40-6mm) and BCOs, Baader Mark IV zooms, TV Panoptics, Delos, Plossl 32-8mm. Mixed brand Masuyama/Astroplans Binoculars: Nikon Aculon 10x50, Celestron 15x70, Baader Maxbright. Mounts: Star Seeker IV, Vixen Porta II, Celestron CG5
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Re: USING FILTERS FOR LUNAR/PLANETARY OBSERVATION

#3

Post by Ylem »


Nice resource Bill, thank you!!
I also have never been a big filter guy, with the exception of the Moon and maybe Mars.

Will have to play around with the ones I currently have.
Clear Skies,
-Jeff :telescopewink:


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Little box of filters
:D



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Re: USING FILTERS FOR LUNAR/PLANETARY OBSERVATION

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Post by Bigzmey »


Great review Bill! Filters are not getting used enough for the planets and Moon.

My all time favorites are Baader Moon and Sky glow and Baader Contrast Booster individually or stacked together. They work great on Jupiter, Mars and to a lesser degree Saturn. For Saturn and crescent Moon may favorite is Orange #21, for full Moon - Green #58. I also has good results with Red #23A and #25 on Mars.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: USING FILTERS FOR LUNAR/PLANETARY OBSERVATION

#5

Post by messier 111 »


very nice of you thx .
I LOVE REFRACTORS , :Astronomer1: :sprefac:

REFRACTOR , TS-Optics Doublet SD-APO 125 mm f/7.8 . Lunt 80mm MT Ha Doublet Refractor .

EYEPIECES, Delos , Delite and 26mm Nagler t5 , 2 zoom Svbony 7-21 , Orion Premium Linear BinoViewer .

FILTER , Nebustar 2 tele vue . Apm solar wedge . contrast booster 2 inches .

Mounts , berno mack 3 with telepod , cg-4 motorized , eq6 pro belt drive .

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Re: USING FILTERS FOR LUNAR/PLANETARY OBSERVATION

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Post by Lady Fraktor »


Thank you for the great article Bill, I will be trying some of these combinations.

I already tried the Baader M&S + 82A on the Moon, not a combination I would have thought of myself.
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
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Re: USING FILTERS FOR LUNAR/PLANETARY OBSERVATION

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Post by KingNothing13 »


This may have given me the shove I need to actually pick up some filters and give them a go. Thanks Bill!
-- Brett

Scope: Apertura AD10 with Nexus II with 8192/716000 Step Encoders
EPs: ES 82* 18mm, 11mm, 6.7mm; GSO 30mm
Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars
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Re: USING FILTERS FOR LUNAR/PLANETARY OBSERVATION

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Post by WilliamPaolini »


If you like to experiment with color filters, then a fun and inexpensive way is to get a Roscolux Swatchbook sampler which has probably around 100 or more small gel filter sheets, each showing its spectrum. This is a resource for stage lighting. I've found that many of their gel filters do a superb job for planetary, some better than any of the production astronomy filters! The small sample gel sheets are fragile, but the sampler books are so inexpensive, and the single large sheets are also similarly inexpensive that does not matter as when they get too beat up just use another. I have also cut these get filters and put them in a conventional astronomy filter holder. When experimenting with these it is easiest to use a long eye relief eyepiece and simply move the get filter between your eye and the eye lens of the eyepiece. This is actually a great way to assess the impact as you can rapidly move the filter in and out of the view to see the difference it makes without delay. Below are links to the sample book. Many places sell these that cater to stage lighting. There are 2 links, the second "E-Color" version link is for Europeans as it uses their numbering system for color stage lighting filters.

https://www.stagelightingstore.com/swat ... swatchbook

https://www.stagelightingstore.com/colo ... swatchbook
-Bill

U.S.A.F. Veteran - Visual Amateur Astronomer since 1966 - Fully Retired since 2019
8" f/5 Newt - Lunt 152 f/7.9 - TSA 102 f/8 - Vixen 81S f/7.7 - P.S.T. - Pentax 65ED II - Nikon 12x50 AE
Pentax XWs - Baader Morpheus - Takahashi LEs - Edmund RKEs - BST Starguiders - 6ZAO-II/5XO/4Abbe
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Re: USING FILTERS FOR LUNAR/PLANETARY OBSERVATION

#9

Post by dagadget »


DSC03043.JPG
You mean like when I did this with a Blue Filter?
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AT 92 on IEQ 30 Pro AKA ClusterZilla
Home Made 8 inch Newtonian Reflector on Rocker Box AKA Scopezilla
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Re: USING FILTERS FOR LUNAR/PLANETARY OBSERVATION

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Post by Makuser »


Hi Bill and all. This is a superb article on the use of filters. When I got back into astronomy, I remembered my photographic days and I bought a bundle of filters for my telescopes, as you can see here:
my filters.JPG
However over time, I found that these are the filters that I find most useful:
favorite filters2.JPG
The variable polarizing filter is great for reducing the incoming light level from the moon on some nights and may reducing "blooming" from some of the brighter surface objects in your captures. And, it works well on some nights with Jupiter and Saturn.
The Wratten #8 yellow (also called "minus blue" in some photographic or scientific circles) is very handy for daytime images of the moon, as it will darken the blue sky, and may increase the contrast of lunar surface details. It is also useful for increasing the contrast in the maria on Mars.
The Wratten #11 yellow/green also can increase contrast on the moon, and as a bonus may reduce the chromatic aberration of apochromatic refractor telescopes as you approach the lunar limbs.
The Wratten #15 deep yellow can be used to bring out Martian surface features, and the polar ice caps. It can also be used to enhance the orange and red features, bands, and festoons on Jupiter and Saturn.
The Wratten #82A light blue works well on Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and the moon. It's pale blue color enhances areas of low contrast and avoids significant reduction of overall light level at the same time. And here is another bonus. Some users report seeing more details face-on spiral galaxy arms and galactic structure, such as on M51.
Thanks for your great article Bill, and I hope that I have added some useful information too.
Marshall
Sky-Watcher 90mm f/13.8 Maksutov-Cassegrain on motorized Multimount
Orion Astroview 120ST f/5 Refractor on EQ3 mount
Celestron Comet Catcher 140mm f/3.64 Schmidt-Newtonian on alt-az mount
Celestron Omni XLT150R f/5 Refractor on CG4 mount with dual axis drives.
Orion 180mm f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain on CG5-GT Goto mount.
Orion XT12i 12" f/4.9 Dobsonian Intelliscope.
Kamakura 7x35 Binoculars and Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars. ZWO ASI 120MC camera.
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Re: USING FILTERS FOR LUNAR/PLANETARY OBSERVATION

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Post by j.gardavsky »


Makuser wrote: Sun Jun 27, 2021 7:13 pm Hi Bill and all. This is a superb article on the use of filters. When I got back into astronomy, I remembered my photographic days and I bought a bundle of filters for my telescopes, as you can see here:
Image
However over time, I found that these are the filters that I find most useful:
Image
The variable polarizing filter is great for reducing the incoming light level from the moon on some nights and may reducing "blooming" from some of the brighter surface objects in your captures. And, it works well on some nights with Jupiter and Saturn.
The Wratten #8 yellow (also called "minus blue" in some photographic or scientific circles) is very handy for daytime images of the moon, as it will darken the blue sky, and may increase the contrast of lunar surface details. It is also useful for increasing the contrast in the maria on Mars.
The Wratten #11 yellow/green also can increase contrast on the moon, and as a bonus may reduce the chromatic aberration of apochromatic refractor telescopes as you approach the lunar limbs.
The Wratten #15 deep yellow can be used to bring out Martian surface features, and the polar ice caps. It can also be used to enhance the orange and red features, bands, and festoons on Jupiter and Saturn.
The Wratten #82A light blue works well on Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and the moon. It's pale blue color enhances areas of low contrast and avoids significant reduction of overall light level at the same time. And here is another bonus. Some users report seeing more details face-on spiral galaxy arms and galactic structure, such as on M51.
Thanks for your great article Bill, and I hope that I have added some useful information too.
Marshall,

these are very nice sets of the filters, reminding my sets of filters for the classic photography in past.
Since those times, most of my photography filters are gone, keeping the pol filters, the neutral graduals, some KR to kill the skylight, and the Neodymium color contrast enhancers - still useful for digital as well.

Best,
JG
6" F/5 Sky-Watcher achro, 2" BBHS Star Diagonal, 2" zenith prism, 1.25" Takahashi prism
Leica 82mm APO Televid
Eyepieces: Docter UWA; Leica B WW and WW Asph. Zoom; Leica HC Plan S and L, monocentric; Pentax SMC XW, O-, XO; Tak MC O, Carl Zeiss B WW, and Pl, E-Pl, S-Pl, W-Pl;
Swarovski SW; Baader Symmetric Diascope Edition; Nikon NAV SW, ; TMB supermonocentric; Rodenstock; Vixen HR; TV Delos
Filters: Astrodon, Astronomik, Baader, Balzers, Zeiss West and East, Lumicon
Binoculars (7x42 up to 15x85): Docter Nobilem, Leica Ultravid, Nikon Astroluxe, Swarovski EL Swarovision; BA8 (Kunming Optical)
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Re: USING FILTERS FOR LUNAR/PLANETARY OBSERVATION

#12

Post by Bigzmey »


Since we are sharing, I have this older set of Celestron filters made in Japan. To my eye they perform to the same level as modern premium color filters like Baader and Lumicon.
Celestron filters 1.jpg
Celestron filters 2.jpg
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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