Light pollution and nebulae filters.

I made a post on this subject as a PS in another post, however
probably deserves a post of it's own.

Hopefully I soon will be ordering an 8" Newtonian reflector. This will
be the first time I will have used what we might consider a useful
telescope.

My past years in astronomy have been spent using binoculars, a good
pair I might hasten.

I live in what I might describe as a low-moderate light polluted
semi-rural location. Andromeda nebula M31 is a relatively easy naked
eye object.

I am primarily interested in cometary and deep sky observing.

With these details in mind would I benefit more from a nebula filter
or a sodium light pollution filter if I wish to maximise my
observational experiences?

Should I be considering other accessories to maximise my comet and DSO
observations instead?

What filters or accessories should I consider purchasing to get the
best out of my 8" reflector in the future? Which manufactureres offer
the best items with this respect?

Thanks

Simon G

On 12 Nov 2003 05:25:13 -0800, (Simon
Gartfield) wrote:

I made a post on this subject as a PS in another post, however
probably deserves a post of it's own.

Hopefully I soon will be ordering an 8" Newtonian reflector. This will
be the first time I will have used what we might consider a useful
telescope.

My past years in astronomy have been spent using binoculars, a good
pair I might hasten.

I live in what I might describe as a low-moderate light polluted
semi-rural location. Andromeda nebula M31 is a relatively easy naked
eye object.

I am primarily interested in cometary and deep sky observing.

With these details in mind would I benefit more from a nebula filter
or a sodium light pollution filter if I wish to maximise my
observational experiences?

Should I be considering other accessories to maximise my comet and DSO
observations instead?

What filters or accessories should I consider purchasing to get the
best out of my 8" reflector in the future? Which manufactureres offer
the best items with this respect?

Thanks

Simon G

The broadband LP filters are of more use photographically than
visually, if they worked well visually you can bet everyone would be
using them! I have a 2" broadband and it darkens the background a bit
- but then it darkens everything else too. A UHC or OIII filter is
more useful, they certainly help when viewing planetary nebulae.

Save your money for decent eyepieces when starting out, also a Telrad
or Rigel finder is useful. Some dew protection is useful at this time
of year too.

ChrisH

UK Astro Ads: http://www.UKAstroAds.co.uk

In message , Simon
Gartfield writes

I live in what I might describe as a low-moderate light polluted
semi-rural location. Andromeda nebula M31 is a relatively easy naked
eye object.

That's pretty good for the UK. M33 should be a binocular object there.

I am primarily interested in cometary and deep sky observing.

With these details in mind would I benefit more from a nebula filter
or a sodium light pollution filter if I wish to maximise my
observational experiences?

Should I be considering other accessories to maximise my comet and DSO
observations instead?

Initially you might be better off with a decent set of eyepieces
(10,17,26, 35mm or similar) and getting used to the scope before you buy
any filters.

What filters or accessories should I consider purchasing to get the
best out of my 8" reflector in the future? Which manufactureres offer
the best items with this respect?

What sort of street lights are nearest to you?

For visual use in a mixed or mainly HPS environment I reckon Orion
Optics(UK) sodium light filter is a pretty good first choice. And that
unless you have mainly mercury lights nearby none of the US made
broadband LPR filters is even worth considering.

Narrowband filters give much better contrast on nebulae but work well on
fewer objects. My favourites are Orion(US) UltraBlock and Lumicon OIII.
YMMV

The thing to remember about all filters is that they make everything
dimmer but improve contrast by dimming light pollution faster than the
object you are looking for. Faint stars and galaxies always suffer
collateral damage.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

Martin Brown wrote in message ...
In message , Simon
Gartfield writes

I live in what I might describe as a low-moderate light polluted
semi-rural location. Andromeda nebula M31 is a relatively easy naked
eye object.

That's pretty good for the UK. M33 should be a binocular object there.

I am primarily interested in cometary and deep sky observing.

With these details in mind would I benefit more from a nebula filter
or a sodium light pollution filter if I wish to maximise my
observational experiences?

Should I be considering other accessories to maximise my comet and DSO
observations instead?

Initially you might be better off with a decent set of eyepieces
(10,17,26, 35mm or similar) and getting used to the scope before you buy
any filters.

What filters or accessories should I consider purchasing to get the
best out of my 8" reflector in the future? Which manufactureres offer
the best items with this respect?

What sort of street lights are nearest to you?

For visual use in a mixed or mainly HPS environment I reckon Orion
Optics(UK) sodium light filter is a pretty good first choice. And that
unless you have mainly mercury lights nearby none of the US made
broadband LPR filters is even worth considering.

Narrowband filters give much better contrast on nebulae but work well on
fewer objects. My favourites are Orion(US) UltraBlock and Lumicon OIII.
YMMV

The thing to remember about all filters is that they make everything
dimmer but improve contrast by dimming light pollution faster than the
object you are looking for. Faint stars and galaxies always suffer
collateral damage.

Regards,

Thanks Martin and Chris your advice is much appreciated!

Simon