7,500+ items available from stock
Best price guarantee
Your partner for astronomy

New Products

Posts Tagged 'filter filter'

Higher contrast for comet hunters: C2 Swan Band filter

September 29 2023, Stefan Taube

CS-Band-Filter

German manufacturer, Baader, has produced a new filter for 511 and 514 nanometre spectral lines which is available to fit both available filter thread sizes:

These Swan Band emission lines, which are named after their discoverer, are produced by carbon. They make up the majority of a comet’s gas tail in the visible spectrum. The filter only allows light from these two carbon wavelengths to pass through and blocks the ever-present light pollution. Structures within a comet’s gas tail, therefore, become more pronounced even in good observing conditions.

At the same time, it blocks the 501 nanometre OIII spectral lines. This increases contrast and makes it easier to distinguish comets with gas tails from comets with dust tails.

Both C2 Swan Band filters belong to Baader’s new CMOS-optimised filters:

New Baader UHC Filter

March 28 2023, Stefan Taube

10861_1

 

UHC filters are very useful aids in the fight against light pollution and natural sky brightness. They suppress artificial light but are transparent to wavelengths emitted by nebulous celestial objects. The effect of this for the observer and astrophotographer is considerably greater contrast.

The new Baader UHC-L filter is an all-purpose anti-light-pollution filter which also blocks LED lamp emissions in the blue part of the spectrum. Both passbands allow all of the light emitted by well-known nebulae through (the H-alpha and H-beta spectral lines of excited hydrogen as well as the OIII spectral lines of oxygen).

You can find all available filter sizes and formats here in our shop.

cmos-filter-groessen

The Baader UHC-L filter offers all of the advantages of the CMOS-optimised Baader filter:

  • Adapted for typical CMOS camera sensors
  • Reflex Blocker™ coating
  • Blackened edges
  • Every filter is individually polished and coated for optical precision
  • Life Coat™ coating for high durability

    Baader-Filter-Technologien

 

Baader SunDancer II for observation and solar photography

October 7 2021, Stefan Taube

The Baader SunDancer II sun filter transforms smaller refractors quickly and simply into telescopes for solar observation using H-alpha spectral lines. In this wavelength, you can see the Sun’s chromosphere with dark filaments, bright radiation bursts and spectacular solar prominences!

Baader Sonnenfilter SunDancer II H-alpha 2"/1,25"

Baader SunDancer II H-alpha 2″/1.25″ solar filter

Simply position the SunDancer II between the diagonal mirror and the eyepiece and connect it to a power source. The filter is then automatically brought to the optimal operating temperature so that no adjustments are required during longer observations.

The SunDancer II can be safely used on refracting telescopes with apertures up to 80 millimetres. An additional energy rejection filter is only required in front of the telescope for objective apertures upwards of 80 millimetres; alternatively, the telescope can be dimmed using an optional 80mm screen in front of the lens.

Telescopes with secondary mirrors, such as Newtonian, Maksutov or SCTs, always require an additional energy rejection filter, regardless of their size.

The complete solar disc can be seen in telescopes with apertures of up to 600mm.

The T2 thread beneath the eyepiece clamp facilitates easy adaptation for larger cameras:

SunDancer II mit DSLR-Kamera

SunDancer II with DSLR camera

A power supply unit is included. For mobile observation, a  powerbank can also be used.

You can find further information on this particularly high-quality H-alpha filter for the eyepiece side here in our shop.

Astronomik MaxFR: Narrow band line filter for fast scopes

March 25 2021, Stefan Taube

The new filters in the MaxFR range are optimised for astrophotography using very fast telescopes, such as the Celestron RASA scopes or the Takahashi Epsilon astrographs.

Astronomik has made these filters available for the three most important spectral lines, namely OIII, H-alpha and SII, each available in half widths of 12 and 6 nanometres.

Astronomik Filter H-alpha 12nm

An H-alpha clip filter for Canon cameras from the MaxFR range

When you observe beneath brightened skies, astrophotography with line filters provides you with the best opportunties to capture successful images. Generally, an H-alpha filter is the first sensible purchase: Using this filter, you can effortlessly capture detailed images, even during the full Moon or beneath heavily brightened skies! It is also the correct filter for all nebulae which emit red light.

The OIII filter significantly increases your options as it enables all green/blue structures to be captured in detailed and high-contrast images. Planetary nebulae and star formation regions are especially rewarding targets!

The SII filter then completes your filter set, and enables you to create the same colour photographs as the Hubble Space Telescope using the three channels!

Which half width is right? In short, the use of 12 nanometre filters is ideal for DSLR cameras and all dark-current-limited cameras. Further suppressing the sky background using a narrower half width does not create more detail with these cameras. The 6 nanometre filters are the right choice for locations with more light pollution and for cameras with extremely low dark current, for example cameras with very good cooling. Especially in very starry regions of the Milky Way, the 6nm filter can also capture weak objects in high-contrast without them becoming lost in the mass of stars.

You can find an overview of all filters in the range here.

NBX – the new dual nebula filter from IDAS

October 19 2020, Jan Ströher

A new, high quality dual band filter has appeared on the market, in the form of the NBX nebula filter from Japanese company, IDAS.  It is especially efficient for nebula photography using fast optics, like the Celestron RASA, for example. Like the existing IDAS (Astro Hutech) nebula filters, the new NBX is of impeccable quality and workmanship.

The IGAD (Ion-Gun Assist Deposition) coating technology which has been specially applied to astronomical filters by the Japanese manufacturer, Astro Hutech, was originally developed for optical communication, where long-term stability (> 25 years) is required in rough field conditions.

IDAS NBX 48mm nebula filter

This leads to filters with robust coatings and durable spectral stability – even at extreme temperatures and humidity levels. This stability is especially important for bandpass curves with steep sides, such as H-alpha, LPS filters and other narrow band filters. Filters with IGAD coatings almost completely eliminate bandpass shifts of +/- 3 or 4nm, which are typical with standard filters.

The NBX is a dual filter which specifically focuses on OIII and H-alpha lines. The NBX‘s transmission curves in the H-alpha and OIII ranges are very clearly illustrated in these two figures:

Transmission curves in H-alpha

 

Transmission curves in OIII

 

You can see that the IDAS NBX filter primarily realises its full potential when used with very fast optical systems and astrographs, such as a Celestron RASA, especially fast Newtonian reflectors with f-numbers between f/2 and f/4 and special devices, such as the Officina Stellare Veloce RH 200 Mark II-AT (Riccardi-Honders).

The NGC 281 “Pacman” Nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia

This dramatically increases the contrast within emission nebulae, which predominantly consist of oxygen (OIII) or hydrogen compounds (H-alpha). Additionally, longer exposure times are no longer required, predominantly due to the use of the above-mentioned, extremely fast optics, but also due to the NBX filter’s special contrast effects. The filter is ideal for use with ‘one shot’ colour cameras and monochromatic CMOS cameras. An IR blocking filter is then no longer required. Additionally, the NBX is parfocal with other IDAS LPS nebula filters.

New: NB1 nebula filter from IDAS

March 25 2019, Stefan Taube

Luminescent emission nebulae, supernova remnants and planetary nebulae are all particularly beautiful objects pertaining to the night sky. This applies both to the simple process of visual observation, as well as to astrophotography. Nature illuminates such nebulae in specific spectral colours: the red light of hydrogen, the blue-green light of oxygen ions and also in the colours of sulphur and nitrogen ions.  Nebula filters enable these colours to pass through whilst blocking the diffused light of the natural luminance of the sky and of light pollution. The result is a marked increase in contrast.

With the Nebula Booster NB1, the filter specialists IDAS are introducing a new, very high-performing filter of this type onto the market, and one that is not overly expensive! As the transmission curve shows, the filter has high transmission and is permeable for all relevant spectral lines, with a surprisingly narrow passband: A real nebula intensifier!

Transmission curve IDAS NB1

 

The filter is ideal for photographing large nebula regions since it enables the typical colours of these objects to pass and blocks the disruptive skyglow. The filter quickly and completely cuts off near infrared up to 1100 nanometres. This is important since cameras are sensitive to this range, but telescopic lenses are optimised for the visible spectral range and are faulty in the infrared range.

IDAS Nebula Booster NB1

IDAS Nebula Booster NB1

 

The Nebula Booster NB1 is available with two versions which cover both of the common filter thread sizes and can be screw-fitted to the housings of eyepieces or cameras.

Astronomik: new clip filters for Canon DSLR cameras

July 31 2017, Stefan Taube

Northern German company Astronomik is a specialist for astronomical filters for astrophotographers or purely visual star gazers. Clip filters are a special innovation of Astronomik. These filters have a special mounting shape, which allows them to be placed directly into a DSLR or system camera – without using any tools!

Astronomik currently offer clip filters for:

The camera mentioned last is designed with extremely high sensitivity. We offer this camera as a specially astro-modified camera. For more information please follow this link: Sony Alpha 7s Astro.

For APS-C Format EOS cameras from Canon, Astronomik have now developed a new series. A special feature of these new XT filters is the very thin carrier with a thickness of only 0.3 mm, to which the filter layer is applied. When using filters with thicker glass carriers, image faults may become visible in the corners of the photos. Stars appear slightly dash shaped. This can be particularly noticed when using short focal lengths. So if you would like to use a Canon EOS with the camera lens on a camera mount to take wide angle shots of the night sky, an XT filter might be the right investment.

XT filters are available in the usual versions, from CLS to H-alpha all the way to SII filters. For novices we especially recommend the CLS filter, which suppresses artificial light pollution.

The red transmission curve reveals: The CLS filter blocks the light from the yellow street lamps.

The red transmission curve reveals: The CLS filter blocks the light from the yellow street lamps.

 

By the way: Removing a clip filter from the camera housing is just as easy as putting it in.