Just cleaned my telescope mirror and...

[Josh Wilson]

I was looking at my scope this morning (at 1am) and I decided I had enough of seeing dust and dirt on the mirror. I unscrewed the screws in the back and slowly pulled out the mirror. I set it on a piece of wood and got out my ear blower and cleaning fluid. I started with just blowing off the lint and dust but there were a few little pieces of dirt or something stuck to the surface and I carefully pricked it off with my finger. I put a few drops of cleaning fluid on the remaining drops and spread it around and rubbed of the streaks until all the dirt and stuck-on material was gone.

I know that even touching the mirror is a big no-no in astronomy and often frowned upon. But I am proud to say that even after rubbing all the dirt off, I am left with absolutely no scratches. Luckily, the mirror has a coating of silicon dioxide to protect the aluminum from peeling off and also from scratches. I can even say that the mirror is cleaner than when I bought it from the Orion store. I now feel much safer taking out the mirror and cleaning it.

Although I still suggest that no one cleans their mirror too often, maybe just once a year or if you get caught in a dust storm or, God forbid, a rain storm. And collimating is a pain afterwards too.

Josh

[LukeSkywatcher]

Mirrors are a lot more robust then most people think, because the aluminium has the extra coating of whatever on top of it to protect it.

[crashtestdummy]

I wish i agreed with that as i cleaned mine with alot more sensitivity than the op makes his cleaning sound and mind ended up scratched.cotton wool is the usual downfall