Hi Everybody
Just wondered about peoples choice of filters for imaging nebulae. I tend to use emission line or narrow band filters (Ha, OIII and SII) for the majority of my imaging due to light pollution but also because of the stunning results that can be obtained. What does everybody else use?
Best wishes
Gordon

Hi Gordon,
i havent used any filters yet but i have heard great things about the Orion SkyGlow Imaging Filter here:
http://www.telescope.com/control/pro...3-070d43aaab59

Great reviews also.

I have an OIII filter and an UHC filter from Lumicon because of light pollution. Ha filters are good to have, since most of the emissions from diffuse nebulae are in the Balmer Ha line of the spectrum.

Eric

so guys if you would tell me this. would filters help me locate nubulae easier with my 10" dob? do they "stand" out more or what? also can i locate galaxies easier with a filter?

Certain filters such as UHC or broad band light pollution filters will help with general observing of nebula and galaxies, OIII (observation) filters often help when observing planetary nebula and an Hb (hydrogen beta observational) filter will be useful for observing nebula such as the horse head but it still helps if you have dark skies and a large aperture. Please note that emission line filters for imaging such as Ha, OIII and SII are not suitable for observing as they are too restrictive and are designed for very long exposures ie in the region of 10+ minutes not the very short exposure time that our eyes have in comparison which equates to approximately 1/100th of a second
Best wishes
Gordon

Just to share my own (rather short) experience, I bought a UHC for my 2in EP and a SkyGlow for my 1.25in EP, both from Orion about 5 months ago. They both work great for nebulae such as M42 and M16 or planetaries like M97, but not for galaxies.

To put simply, light pollution filters enhance contrast in particular wavelengths, especially the ones where nebulae shine most. On the other hand, galaxies are plain white (meaning they emit in all wavelengths almost equally).

The UHC is particularly good at "erasing" galaxies, meaning that it darkens the sky AND the galaxies equally. The UHC will also give a bluish colour to many stars and make the red stars to fade. I heard reports that the SkyGlow give acceptable results for galaxies, but I cannot confirm that yet.

My sad conclusion is that there is no substitute for a real dark sky, at least for galaxies.