I purchased an 8" Dobsonian telescope a few years ago and for the past 4-5 years its been collecting dust in the back of my closet. I've had this sudden urge to pull it out again and I was wondering what I should do before using it again. I remember that the mirrors probably need to be aligned again, but that's about all i can remember in terms of maintenance. What I would like to know is what can I do to get the most out of it? Should i replace the mirrors or do they just need to be cleaned? Or have I irrevocably ruined the telescope by not upkeeping it the past couple years? Any other pieces of advice are helpful.
2007-04-10 07:12:40 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Canned air to clean the mirrors. Do not rub them with anything.
My guess is that if you just ignored the scope, you will find alignment pretty good.
HTH
Charles
2007-04-10 08:45:35 · answer #1 · answered by Charles 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As long as it was not in a corrosive environment, everything should be fine. Stop at a photo or scope shop and get some "canned air" to blow the dust out. If the scope was in an environment where there was a lot of cooking with grease or lots of smoke, you may need to get a lens cleaning kit and scrub it down.
2007-04-10 14:17:56 · answer #2 · answered by Gene 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
did you keep the lens caps on it while it was in storage? and was it stored inside? if so then odds are it won't need much work at all, the mirrors should still be aligned and relatively dust free. if they are dusty get some compressed air in a can, you can usually find it at computer places. use that to blow off the mirrors.
everything should still work fine otherwise. take it out and enjoy
2007-04-10 14:20:08 · answer #3 · answered by Tim C 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋