📢
11

Just realized a neighbor's tip about moon filters changed my whole view

I was using a cheap pair of binoculars from Target to look at the full moon and it just looked like a bright blob until my neighbor Ed said "try a piece of welding glass in front of the lens." I cut a scrap of shade 14 glass from his shop and taped it on, and suddenly I could see craters and ridges like never before. Has anyone else found a weird household item that boosted their backyard setup?
2 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In
2 Comments
lilychen
lilychen1mo ago
Oh man, you had me until "changed my whole view." I get that welding glass is a cheap trick and it works for cutting glare, but that shade 14 stuff is basically like looking through a dark green soda bottle. You lose all the subtle shading and texture on the lunar surface. I tried it once with my old scope and it just made everything look flat and dead. There's a reason proper moon filters are more than just dark glass they actually let you see the fine detail without washing out the lighter areas. I'll take a good $30 variable polarizer over scrap metal any night.
10
nathan289
nathan2891mo ago
Did you try a variable polarizer or just a shade 14 filter?
2