Is there a filter specifically made to filter out Moon light?

[keeef65 (Keith)]

Hi..

First time post.
I'm mostly doing DSO's and just starting out. I don't have much equipment yet but building up slowly.

I'm Lucky enough to live in a Bortle 2 area where my main source of light pollution is the moon itself.
I'm thinking that moonlight is just reflected "star" light and the normal filters used to filter out city lights would be ineffective against it.

Are there any specific filters that are effective at filtering out moon light or should I just deal with it and point the scope away from the moon when it's up??

[Stonius (Markus)]

It's reflecting the light of the sun, which is broad spectrum and white. The objects you're trying to capture are made of stars that shine in the same spectrum, so no, there isn't really any filtering you can do that won't affect the objects you're trying to capture.


Markus

[Saturnine (Jeff)]

Any broadband light pollution filter from most manufacturers will do what you're asking, that's why they call them light pollution filters, whether it is moonlight or street lights or the neighbours lights. Though LED lights are more problematic, just get an Moon and Skyglow filter like the Baader M & S filter or an UHC filter . They wont magically turn the sky black but will increase the contrast and make a noticeable difference.
For imaging, if that is what you are after, then there are various Deep Sky filters available like the Optolong range or ZWO or Antlia or Astronomics, or many others, that increase the contrast for nebulae by blocking unwanted light pollution or moonlight.