Switched to stacking filters differently after 6 years of astro photos

I always put my narrowband filter closest to the sensor, thinking that was standard practice. Last week at a local club meetup in Tucson, an older guy looked at my gear and said "you're probably getting reflections" - sure enough my Orion flats had weird halos. Anybody else learn a basic stacking order trick way later than they should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

dakota4791mo ago

@christopher67 is right, that filter spacing messes with stars more than people realize. I read somewhere that putting the narrowband filter further up the optical train can cut down on internal reflections by a lot, especially with fast scopes. Sounds like that Tucson guy knew his stuff about the halos you were getting.

christopher671mo ago

That older guy in Tucson probably saved you a lot of headaches" is the lesson I took way too long to learn too. I spent a year blaming my telescope for bloated stars before someone told me to check my filter spacing.