Moon filters

[Guest lunetta]

The Moon's my favourite object in the night sky and I'd like to spend some quality time viewing it with my newly acquired Skywatcher Explorer 150P and maybe imaging it with my SPC880 webcam. I must admit I find the Moon uncomfortably bright, so I've just been reading up on lunar filters and I'm in two minds on whether I should buy one or not, seeing that money's a bit tight. Neutral density filters seem attractively cheap, but I'm wondering whether I'd be better off with a variable polarizing filter, offering versatility for observing the first- and last quarter moon in daylight or twilight as well as night viewing. I've also read that some people swear by the Baader Neodymium Moon & Skyglow-Filter. On the against side, I've read that some lunar enthusiasts don't bother with a lunar filter at all saying that using higher magnitude EP's cuts the light glare down anyway. And, other cheap options I've come across have included wearing sunglasses in front of the EP, or stopping down the scope's aperture. I just wondered if anybody out there had any comments on these various options which might help me make a decision.

[Doc]

I used to observe the moon with a 16" scope so you could imagine how bright that was. I've observed mainly without a filter and yes it was bright but you get used to it, later on I used a Neodymium filter and it was good, gave the moon a darker cast, but I found it made difficult objects such as the Triesnecker Rilles or Ina harder to see.

BTW welcome to EMS.