What filters would you buy?

[stargazer]

Hi guys,

Given a budget of just $ 200, can I do some kind of poll on what reasonably good performance filters would you get for night sky observing?

[antares2063]

Hi stargazer,

For viewing of Emission nebula like Orion neb, Lagoon neb, active regions and Planetary nebulae, I wholeheartedly recommend a UHC filter. In our light polluted skies it makes a difference between seeing and invisibility. If used in a dark site, the effect is even more astounding.

There are some on sale by Alvin (Great red spot) in B&S section. Glad to come across a visual observer guy in the forum, cheers.

regards
Junwei

[stargazer]

Hi Junwei,

How about planetary filter? Will it be useful for my 5" newt as currently the max mag I can use to observe planets is ard 120x with a 2x barlow. Wondering if this filter will make much diff?

Will I be better off with a LPR filter instead?

[antares2063]

Hi..actually there are no filters for planets like Jupiter , Saturn etc you would want as much a "pure" view as possible. I was refering to planetary nebulas like : Dumbbell Neb, Ring Neb , etc.

Regards
Junwei

[Great Red Spot]

Hello. UHC is specifically for nebulas. It will dim stars and enhance contrast of the fuzzy patches. LPR is general purpose light pollution filter. They will not dim stars (which you want to see) as much as UHC but it will not perform as well as UHC for nebulas. They have different functions.
There is no planetary filters that help allowing more magnification. But some colour filters do enhance contrast of certain parts of certain planets. Personally i dont use filters for planets.
Hope this helps.

[Hardwarezone]

http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/49735 ... y-viewing/

Watchout for those 5-for-$30 color filters on the internet, those stuff cost $1 to produce and I'm skeptical of the optical quality. Keep unnecessary stuff out of optical train.
IMO I would blame the lack of contrast on stray light and central obstruction. You can solve stray light with a DIY front hood extension or flocking 50% of inner tube circumference opposite of focuser (24x24cm square).

[stargazer]

Thanks all for your comments! At least have a guide before deciding what to spend!

[cloud_cover]

I'd suggest the UHC as pretty much the only filter you need.
In my opinion, an LPR doesn't do very much while the planetary color filters distort the picture by changing the color.
UHC works well to enhance nebulosity as long as you have sufficient aperture, which you do in that 6" newt.
O3 filters work as well but the UHC is more versatile. HB filters are for very specific targets and HA filters are for imaging.
Buy used if you can, it keeps the cost down.
Get a filter of good quality. Because it sits very near the focal plane, any irregularities or aberrations will affect the picture far more than dust on your mirror.
Hope it helps!

[stargazer]

Thanks cloud cover!