rain on my parabolic mirror :(

[Sam Baker]

I was using my scope earlier and went inside to have my tea and from clear skies, Englands brilliant weather turned to down pours so my mirror now has water droplets. can I use my scope or need to let it naturally dry? how could I dry it quick while the skies are clear as I am desperate to look at orion once again

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[knobby]

Tilt the scope 45 degrees to allow it to run off if its bad. Maybe try a hairdryer gently to wards mirror .

More advice will follow from the experts :-).

[Digz]

I guess you can still use it whilst wet. Image quality will be affected slightly but you may not notice. As for drying just let it dry naturally when your finished a d have brought your scope in.

[knobby]

What scope is it?

[IVAN TAPIA]

I think you'll have to shower it again with distilled water so it removes any deposits left from rain water and just let it dry on its own.

Call me Desdinova.

[paul mc c]

You could try a hairdryer,the rain will probably leave some water marks on the mirror though,but it wont really spoil the views.

Always put the scope horizontal when leaving it unatended,i have been caught the same way my self.

[Charic]

Sam Baker.......Hi, it really takes a lot of contamination to spoil your views. Unless there are acidic pollutants pollens or bird doo on the mirror, the general advice is to leave well alone. But the temptation is too much to just to leave it dirty, so the golden rule is to mark components in such a way, so that they re-assemble exactly as they were before dismantling. the buzz word is EXTREME CAUTION as your cleaning the reflective coatings which are front side of the mirror. The only pressure that should be applied is surgical cotton wool dragged over the surface of the mirror. the mirror is finally rinsed in medical quality distilled water to prevent staining, and allowed to dry naturally before assembly, trying not to leave a finger print on the mirror, before you have to repeat the procedure? Google for procedures.

[Sam Baker]

Thanks alot! I was so anxious that I needed to take advantage of the clear skies while it was still wet and to my surprise it worked as good as ever before. I got a really good view of the orion nebula possibly the best I've had so far. I had a scout round for the crab nebula but I couldn't find it im going to keep searching though

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[acey]

If it's any consolation, my 12" mirror is covered with a year's worth of stains from condensation (water droplets which I leave to evaporate naturally or else remove with a hair dryer). It'll all come off when I next give the mirror a wash, but in the meantime it has no noticeable effect on views through the eyepiece. It's only when I look down the tube in daylight that it looks bad.

[Sam Baker]

I did go to an observatory open evening where the had a scope and the mirror looked filthy in the dark but somehow the view was amazing and wasn't affected at all by the all the marks. I just wasn't sure whether water droplets would skew the view but it seemed to work perfectly

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[NGC 1502]

Thanks alot! I was so anxious that I needed to take advantage of the clear skies while it was still wet and to my surprise it worked as good as ever before. I got a really good view of the orion nebula possibly the best I've had so far. I had a scout round for the crab nebula but I couldn't find it im going to keep searching though

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The Crab nebula ( M1 ) is one of the fainter Messier objects, so your scope may be pointing at it, without you seeing it..............

Seen it no prob with my 10" Dob from my light polluted garden, and one night when the sky was very transparent got it with my 70mm refractor.

From a dark site, easy.

Keep trying, you will see it, Ed.

[Tiny Small]

When I clean my mirror, I just put it under the tap, a bit of washing up liquid on my fingers as a water soluble lubricant and get stuck in there. Nowt to be afraid of, just take of any rings first and don't drop it.