Moon Filter use

[chicagorandy]

IF your telescope has a star diagonal eyepiece holder.

Whilst browsing the subject of Moon filters I came across a 'tip' that never would have occurred to ME, so I thought I'd post it here for fellow total rookies who want to use a Moon filter to cut down some of the harsh glare/eye strain and also to improve contrast.

Since you will most likely want to switch eyepieces to go from low to higher powers during an extended viewing session, before the session insert the Moon filter into the end of the star diagonal holder rather than the individual eyepiece. Then you can switch EP's without also fiddling with the filter. When done with the Moon for the night, slide out the diagonal, remove the filter, and enjoy the stars, planets and DSO's.

No doubt seasoned astronomers are well versed in this simple technique for filter use, but when I read the tip the dim light bulb above my head lit up - lol. It is also possible this tip is the wrong thing to do. In which case I hope others will set me straight on the subject.

I reckon that as I continue my journey of astronomy/telescope education, as things enlighten me, I will share them here in Beginners for others like me.

[Lady Fraktor]

A handy tip Randy! If you are viewing with a variable polarizer you can put half on the diagonal nosepiece and the other half on the eyepiece, just turn the eyepiece to get the dimming effect.
Another tip is to not let your eyes be fully dark adapted when doing Lunar viewing, then the lunar surface does not seem as bright.

[chicagorandy]

" then the lunar surface does not seem as bright."

Well then....there's yet ANOTHER thing I have in common with the Moon - lol

[kenpresley]

:thumb:
Great tip, Randy. Will be especially valuable during outreach viewings.
Thanks!
ken

[Bigzmey]

Good one Randy! When observing the Moon don't limit your experience to neutral density filters. I like orange filter. Small details seems to pop up when I put it in.

[chicagorandy]

Thanks for info, I'll keep it in mind. At the moment I only have the moon filter - I gave away the others and the rest of the Celestron kit to the person I gifted with my Celestron 127EQ for their use.

[seer]

I just tried the polarizing filter with a correcting diagonal not long ago and got some strange results. I have a mirror diagonal on my wish list now.

[Marilyn Mangel]

Before using moon and variable polarising filters, I used sunglasses. Don't snigger, it WORKS!

These filters also work well on Jupiter and Venus.

[Greg6498]

Those are GREAT tips! I hate nesting around with filters and eyepieces in the dark!

[helicon]

I haven't tried this yet Randy, but will give it a shot with my frac, assuming there is a spot to insert the moon filter in the diagonal.

[Lady Fraktor]

The nosepiece of the diagonal should be threaded for filters.

[chicagorandy]

I wish I could claim credit for the idea, but it is from a post someone made several years ago on another forum that I happened across doing a Google search on moon filters.

[Nimitz]

I would encourage you to try lunar observing without a filter. The reason people report that lunar observing hurst their eyes is that they are letting their eyes fully dark adapt and then trying to observe the brightest object in the night sky. When planning to observe the moon just don’t let your eyes fully dark adapt and you should be able to view without issue.

[jerryTheC]

And don't forget that as you increase magnification, the image gets dimmer anyway (you're basically spreading the same quantity of light out over a larger area).

If I'm going to use a moon filter, I prefer the variable polariser approach - though a lot of the time I don't bother with one at all; your eyes soon adapt.
The downside of not using a filter is that it completely kills off your dark adaptation, so it takes some time to get it back afterwards...