Filters

[Mike Q]

i have a friend with a 14 inch dob that swears by it on certain nebula. So i will be trying it out on them at some point

Congrats! It does work like a LP filter mildly improving views of DSOs under LP skies.

I honestly dont know how well it will work given my sky conditions, but i am willing to give it a shot on anything i train my scopes on

[Caldwell 14]

I used one only last night, excellent views of Mars (x224) and Jupiter (x174) in outstanding seeing

[Mike Q]

I used one only last night, excellent views of Mars (x224) and Jupiter (x174) in outstanding seeing

224x would be a really nice night for me. I would be a pretty happy guy of i could get to that

[John Baars]

224x would be a really nice night for me. I would be a pretty happy guy of i could get to that

Doesn't your Astrotech refractor reach to 224X?
An object like Mars can easily tolerate high magnifications. The overwhelming orange glare of the planet is very well attenuated this way.

[Mike Q]

224x would be a really nice night for me. I would be a pretty happy guy of i could get to that

Doesn't your Astrotech refractor reach to 224X?
An object like Mars can easily tolerate high magnifications. The overwhelming orange glare of the planet is very well attenuated this way.

Oh sure it can reach it, but my normal skies pretty much max me out somewhere between 100 and 150x. A 200x night is a good night. Anything above that is a REALLY good night.

Edit.... I just looked back thru some of my records. One time I was able to hit 400x on Saturn with my 16 inch. It was just one of those nights that pops up once in a while. I was able to focus and the image was perfect and steady. I need more of those kind of nights.

[John Baars]

Oh sure it can reach it, but my normal skies pretty much max me out somewhere between 100 and 150x. A 200x night is a good night. Anything above that is a REALLY good night.

Edit.... I just looked back thru some of my records. One time I was able to hit 400x on Saturn with my 16 inch. It was just one of those nights that pops up once in a while. I was able to focus and the image was perfect and steady. I need more of those kind of nights.

That is a pity. My skies are a tad better than yours apparently.
On average Mars and Saturn both tolerate high magnifications. On Mars 200X is almost a must, given the small disc at the moment.
Jupiter doesn't allow such magnification, pity. At least on my location.

And YESS ! We all need more those kind of nights!!

[Mike Q]

Oh sure it can reach it, but my normal skies pretty much max me out somewhere between 100 and 150x. A 200x night is a good night. Anything above that is a REALLY good night.

Edit.... I just looked back thru some of my records. One time I was able to hit 400x on Saturn with my 16 inch. It was just one of those nights that pops up once in a while. I was able to focus and the image was perfect and steady. I need more of those kind of nights.

That is a pity. My skies are a tad better than yours apparently.
On average Mars and Saturn both tolerate high magnifications. On Mars 200X is almost a must, given the small disc at the moment.
Jupiter doesn't allow such magnification, pity. At least on my location.

And YESS ! We all need more those kind of nights!!

Stabilitywise, everyone's skies are better then mine lol.

[Caldwell 14]

I am on the North Sea coast, I don't know if that makes a difference or not. I also need to point out I can't do that every night.

[Mike Q]

I am on the North Sea coast, I don't know if that makes a difference or not. I also need to point out I can't do that every night.

Didn't figure you could lol. I heard many stories about the skies over the UK, but mostly from the southern part.

[Caldwell 14]

Well one thing I do know is that we are one of the driest parts of England, about 35 days a year. Makes absolutely no difference to the amount of cloud we get over here in Lincolnshire though you understand.

[Mike Q]

Well one thing I do know is that we are one of the driest parts of England, about 35 days a year. Makes absolutely no difference to the amount of cloud we get over here in Lincolnshire though you understand.

I understand perfectly

[Mike Q]

So last night i was able to give the Baader Contrast Booster a go on a couple different objects. First the moon. Is there a difference, sure. The edges around the impact craters seemed sharper, not a lot sharper but it is noticeable. Mars was next. I can't say i was impressed with it on Mars. Anything i could see pretty much disappeared when i brought the filter into play. This might have been due to the proximity to the moon and there was just too much light on the target. Then came Jupiter. Again it sharpened up the image a little, but not to the point that i was overly impressed with. I will try this again on a night where the moon isn't so bright as to cast shadows. If i was pressed to say is it worth the 150 bucks, at this point i would say no, but i will give it another shot on a darker night

[messier 111]

So last night i was able to give the Baader Contrast Booster a go on a couple different objects. First the moon. Is there a difference, sure. The edges around the impact craters seemed sharper, not a lot sharper but it is noticeable. Mars was next. I can't say i was impressed with it on Mars. Anything i could see pretty much disappeared when i brought the filter into play. This might have been due to the proximity to the moon and there was just too much light on the target. Then came Jupiter. Again it sharpened up the image a little, but not to the point that i was overly impressed with. I will try this again on a night where the moon isn't so bright as to cast shadows. If i was pressed to say is it worth the 150 bucks, at this point i would say no, but i will give it another shot on a darker night

Is it possible that said planets are too small at present time ?

[Mike Q]

So last night i was able to give the Baader Contrast Booster a go on a couple different objects. First the moon. Is there a difference, sure. The edges around the impact craters seemed sharper, not a lot sharper but it is noticeable. Mars was next. I can't say i was impressed with it on Mars. Anything i could see pretty much disappeared when i brought the filter into play. This might have been due to the proximity to the moon and there was just too much light on the target. Then came Jupiter. Again it sharpened up the image a little, but not to the point that i was overly impressed with. I will try this again on a night where the moon isn't so bright as to cast shadows. If i was pressed to say is it worth the 150 bucks, at this point i would say no, but i will give it another shot on a darker night

Is it possible that said planets are too small at present time ?

Thats a good question, but i would say probably not. Without the filter I could see some surface details at 150x in the 4 inch. I am of the belief it was just too much light coming off the moon. I did try 200x but the sky said nope you dont get to go that high tonight. So i am reserving judgement until i get a darker night.

[messier 111]

So last night i was able to give the Baader Contrast Booster a go on a couple different objects. First the moon. Is there a difference, sure. The edges around the impact craters seemed sharper, not a lot sharper but it is noticeable. Mars was next. I can't say i was impressed with it on Mars. Anything i could see pretty much disappeared when i brought the filter into play. This might have been due to the proximity to the moon and there was just too much light on the target. Then came Jupiter. Again it sharpened up the image a little, but not to the point that i was overly impressed with. I will try this again on a night where the moon isn't so bright as to cast shadows. If i was pressed to say is it worth the 150 bucks, at this point i would say no, but i will give it another shot on a darker night

Is it possible that said planets are too small at present time ?

Thats a good question, but i would say probably not. Without the filter I could see some surface details at 150x in the 4 inch. I am of the belief it was just too much light coming off the moon. I did try 200x but the sky said nope you dont get to go that high tonight. So i am reserving judgement until i get a darker night.

I checked with friends, and they say that Mars is too far from us at present and that the light that reaches here is diminished by the filter.
Jupiter being bigger does not have this effect on the filter yet, but in a short time it will be the same and even worse for Mars.

it is wiser to wait for the next opposition of mars and jupiter in 2026.

[Mike Q]

Is it possible that said planets are too small at present time ?

Thats a good question, but i would say probably not. Without the filter I could see some surface details at 150x in the 4 inch. I am of the belief it was just too much light coming off the moon. I did try 200x but the sky said nope you dont get to go that high tonight. So i am reserving judgement until i get a darker night.

I checked with friends, and they say that Mars is too far from us at present and that the light that reaches here is diminished by the filter.
Jupiter being bigger does not have this effect on the filter yet, but in a short time it will be the same and even worse for Mars.

it is wiser to wait for the next opposition of mars and jupiter in 2026.

Well no one here will ever call me wise that is for sure lol. If i get another clear night soon i am probably going to give it another shot with the 16 inch, just to see what happens, but what your friends say does make sense.