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| Experimenting with the Moon. A red or dark red filter will increase the contrast of a blue sky in the daytime. Experiments with a filter to let through infrared light and block other wavelengths will also help clear up the image and increase contrast. Image by Mike Otis |
These are some ideas on Wednesday, July 29th, 2020
Light pollution is very strong at night, greater than Bortle 9, and only one star and a planet are visible. I got an idea this afternoon.
After a big rain yesterday, the blue sky is beautiful and very clear today. Rare wind has taken the edge off high humidity levels. Using a red filter, some bright stars, planets, and the Moon are visible in the daytime! Which is better, day or night? There is no artificial light pollution in the daytime and only natural solar light prevails. Some current daytime objects to view are planes, satellites, the Sun, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury and the Moon. The idea is to increase sky contrast and subtract some solar light to a point where the observation becomes useful. Using GOTO and filters, I wonder if the brightest deep sky object can be teased into view? Certainly planets and the Moon have great potential. Depending on how this works out, I might switch to day viewing and imaging.
