Hi Lateralus and everyone- i am noo to the forums- So please be gentle.
I own the Astronomik UHC in the 1 1/4"- I love and cherish it, it has a special container that secretely rests under my pillow at night- when i can not be not outside using it !!
Seriously though, over the recent moon cycle, on the wane with about a half or more moon, finding nebs was tough,- so, I wack the filter into the widest field EP I have at hand and search. Hey presto, with the UHC screwed into the EP you will then find Turantula, Carina, Orion, Crab.. (joking) anyhow the more popular nebs. The only drawback is the stars in the nebulosity taking on a peculiar greenish tinge- but the gas tendrils and filiments really do come out to play with your bio-optics. At around $180 the astronomik isnt a cheapy but not that excy' either, and please it really is worth scrimping for the extra money for this filter, my scope is a 10" Dob. Reflector 1250 F.L at F5. Skies here at Toogoom 25 Km north of Hervey bay are pretty good- Saturn and Jupiter at 420X around 2.30 am on calm mornings. Life could be worse, but the postage cost on equipment mounts up. In short get the best nebular filter you can afford. It will be your friend and ally.
Yes there is nothing they can not do:not. But Jano' what you said earlier about differentiating between neb. and other objects in the LMC and SMC is where the filters come into their own. Under dark clear skies, the astronomik performs excellently on DSO and nebular in general, so we differ here on their use, but again it all comes down to personal gear, inclination and optical perception of the individual, which seems to vary dramatically from person to person.
M Gavin has tested the performance of various filters using a spectroscope.
Shows EXACTLY what is happening and which wavelengths are being transmitted/ blocked well worht looking at. When I get some time (!!) I'll do the same for the filters I have.
//home.freeuk.com/m.gavin/grism.htm
If this link doesn't get you there, go to his home page and look at the LH list near the bottom.
Just got my filter in the mail today . Cant wait to try it out. The next Bridgenorth viewing nite is coming and the weather is looking good so far( that could change in a blink here in Tas tho!!)
First lite has to be on M42 ( what else!) I'll post my initial thoughts after the weekend
Clear Skies
Simon
Wavelandscott and I had a chance to try out his Astronomik CLS filter vs my DGM NPB on Saturday night.
While on M42 they appeared to do a similar job, Scott confirmed that on Eta Carinae, the DGM NPB showed much more nebula. So it's worth remembering that some filters work better on some objects - it depends what type of gas they're emitting.
. Cant wait to try it out. The next Bridgenorth viewing nite is coming and the weather is looking good so far( that could change in a blink here in Tas tho!!)
