Bought a $35 moon filter for my telescope and it was a complete waste

I picked up a cheap moon filter off Amazon thinking it would cut the glare on those full moon nights. Took one look through the eyepiece and everything turned this weird blue green color like I was looking at swamp water. The craters lost all their detail and it just made the whole thing fuzzy. My buddy let me try his $80 variable polarizer a week later and the difference was night and day. Has anyone else wasted money on those budget filters that promise more than they deliver?

2 comments

2 Comments

jenkins.reese27d ago

Did I buy a Moon filter or a fish tank decoration?

viola_ward27d ago

Oh absolutely I can see why you'd ask that, @jenkins.reese. That blue glow and the fake rock texture would look right at home in a pet store aisle. I bet if you put it in a tank with some plastic plants nobody would even blink. It's like those companies just slap "moon filter" on anything that's round and blue these days. Makes you wonder if they even test this stuff on actual telescopes or if they just assume nobody will notice the difference. At least if you decide to get a fish you're already set up with a nice backdrop.