telescope accident

[a2lt16v]

Just been out playing with my new SLR (didnt get on very well)  brought telescope in and went back out to get my camera tripod and heard a massive crash in the kitchen.

went back in to find the telscope on the tiled floor!!!!!!!!!   and a tripod with only two legs.  one of the legs appears to have completely sheared off the mount it took some finding as it had shot across the kitchen and into the hallway.

is the telescope likely to have suffered any internal damage its a celestron 4se

just so happens theres a new leg on ebay

[CodnorPaul]

Ouch - if the corrector plate is in tact, and the mirror is in tact, then you may be lucky - oh and also check the diagonal prism

[a2lt16v]

i have no idea what any of those parts are lol. im pretty new to scopes.   i will have to have a view through it tomorrow somehow and see if it is still clear to look though.  nothing is smashed so fingers crossed its all alright

[a2lt16v]

ive only used it about 10 ten times since having it just cant see why the leg randomly snapped of unless it was the cold outside and the warm house after i put it back inside

[ronin]

The corrector plate is the glass "disk" on the front, the mirror is inside, the diagonal will be the bit out the back that you put an eyepiece into.

If nothing looks bust then the corrector is still in one bit (thats the easy bit to check), if the mirror broke there would be bits inside making a right noise as you move the main tube. Diagonal would be at an angle if really damaged. The flat mirror in the diagonal may have shifted or even come off.

Sounds like you have been lucky, although the mount around the scope may have hit the ground first not so much the scope itself.

Very strange that a leg has given way, cannot recall ever hearing of that, the temperature difference would not have caused it. Think they are tubular steel ?

Could have moved the mirror so focus could have shifted, collimation may have changed.

[a2lt16v]

the legs are tubular still but the bit the bolt goes through is injected plastic maybe it was just a dodgy one

[Stardust]

I have a friend who had a 4SE go over once on tarmac, the only thing was the batteries came dislodged, so check that if it doesn't power up.

[Brian Nordstrom]

Hope all is OK , we had a friends brand new AT66mm triplet fall out of the mount last weekend ,, luckly it hit the cushion on his observing chair on the way down , that broke the fall then rolled 400mm to the ground ( it was at over 1000mm on the mount ! ) only suffering a bit of dirt on the diagonal .

Its a horrible feeling when this happens , hows is your scope now ? .

Brian.