krash661 said:
and this is not my first telescope, it's just the newest.
but this is it.
but what I'm more interested in is what filters does every one use
You might want to start your own thread on this in the General Astronomy forum.
But quickly, your new scope is a Dobsonian (technically a
Dobsonian-style Newtonian, sometimes just called a "Dob"). These are great for the ease of setup for visual observing. They're not quite cut out for astrophotography though. [Edit: although you might be able to do some planetary imaging, maybe.] So filters for this scope are pretty much for visual use.
First be careful in that filters can get pretty expensive. And sometimes their usefulness is questionable for visual use. Keep that in mind, but I'll give some more thoughts below. Visual filters can screw into the back of the eyepiece (or diagonal if you are using one, but you probably wouldn't use a diagonal with a Dob). This also means that depending on your selection of eyepieces, you'll need to make sure that the 2" or 1.25" filter matches the size of the particular eyepiece.
With a 10 inch mirror, you'll seriously want to consider some sort of neutral density filter for lunar use (i.e. a "moon filter"). If you haven't already discovered this yet, the unfiltered moon is uncomfortably bright when viewed through a 10 inch scope. It not only annihilates your night vision but it's so bright it's kinda painful to look at. A moon filter can help a lot, and fortunately they are pretty inexpensive. For a little more money you can get a variable, polarizing filter, where you can vary the intensity by twisting the angle of one polarizer with respect to the other.
Beyond that there some nebula filters. These include (but are not limited to) visual versions of a
OIII (oxygen three) filter and
Hβ (hydrogen beta, which might be helpful when viewing the Horsehead nebula). Be careful of these because they are expensive and they won't make the nebula look any "brighter" (no filter can do that), but they might improve the contrast of a nebula, maybe. The nebula has to be bright enough to see when viewing through the filter in the first place. Rather than screwing these filters into the back of the eyepiece (which can be done), they are often used by placing them between the eye and the eyepiece, moving the filter in and out of the line of sight in a process called "blinking"*. You might find these filters rewarding, but don't expect Earth shattering results. There are are also some general light pollution filters too. They might help, but again, don't expect anything Earth shattering.
If you use some other telescope for astrophotography, then that opens up a whole new can of worms when it comes to filters. But I'll leave that for another time.
*(Hmm. I think I just got a new idea for the Jargon Game thread.)
This image was taken without filters.
. Actually it wasn't a true typo, it's just that there are a limited number of characters allowed in titles.
