We are able to see the Moon at night thanks to sunlight reflecting off its rocky surface. When looking at the Moon through a telescope, bright reflected sunlight can produce significant glare. The Moon’s disk, even at partial phases, is in fact so intensely bright with reflected sunlight that observing surface details can be challenging due to the overwhelming glare. This glare can be so bright that it washes out most of the interesting lunar features such as craters, rilles, mountains, and valleys. The considerable brightness also reduces contrast on our nearest neighbor in the solar system.

To improve contrast and tone down glare easily, we recommend using a neutral-density 1.25" Orion 13% Transmission Moon Filter. This inexpensive accessory threads directly into a 1.25" eyepiece barrel and blocks 87% of the light gathered by the telescope, making for more comfortable lunar views exhibiting higher contrast. Once installed on a 1.25" telescope eyepiece, the Orion 13% Transmission Moon Filter will bring out considerably more lunar surface details thanks to the boosted contrast. Not only will more surface features and details pop out, but you can study them in greater comfort, thanks to Moon Filter reducing overall brightness without altering color. This neutral-density telescope eyepiece filter reduces irradiation, which is the distortion at the boundary between light and dark areas, such as along the lunar terminator. Using a Moon filter also helps conserve dark-adapted vision while viewing the lunar surface, especially when using big telescopes with 6" of aperture and larger.

The Moon is one of the most interesting objects in the night sky to observe through a telescope. Its rugged surface is a feast for the eyes of amateur astronomers, with fascinating craters, mountainous highlands, and large, dark lunar “seas” formed by ancient volcanic activity. Night after night, the Moon is a treasure-trove of visual adventures for astronomers of all skill levels. With a 1.25" Orion 13% Transmission Moon Filter you can affordably enhance all your views of Earth’s natural satellite.