Primary Mirror Dust - how to remove safely

[Richyboy24]

Hi everyone,

2 weeks ago i purchased a Skyliner 250px Dob (which im very happy with by the way!!)

i noticed when it arrived though that the primary mirror has perhaps about 15 small particles of im guessing dust/hair.

does anyone know a) if this will have a visual impact and what the best way to remove them is?

i'm sure they are loosely sitting on the mirror and they arent embedded or anything like that but what can be used to gently remove them without causing any damage?

Cheers!

[acey]

Leave them alone. They will have absolutely no visual impact - but any attempt at removing them may well do.

Usual advice on dust removal is to use a fine camel hair brush - but only if there's so much crud you can hardly see the mirror for it. Any hard particles caught in the brush may scratch the mirror, so it's not something you want to do unless you really have to.

Andrew

[peeceeTal2M]

If you are uncertain if your mirror needs cleaning then it probably doesn't. You'd be suprised at how much dust will need to accumulate before the image is degraded.

Phill

[John]

I would not touch the mirror surface with anything. I have used a manually operated puffer brush, without touching the mirror surface, to blow particles off in the past but you need to take the mirror out of the scope for that and that needs to be done very carefully.

If it's only a few small particles then its not affecting the images at all so I'd leave it.

John

[Richyboy24]

ok thanks fr the input guys, i think having read that i'll leave the mirror alone

thanks!

[gtvaldez]

I need to ask a question regarding shipping a primary. I am selling one for a friend (we were building our own - mine's done, her's fell to the wayside). I have the original box from the company we bought them from. But she is missing 1/2 the packing insides. I have a flat piece of styrofoam that the mirror sits on and that's it. What can I do to protect the mirror's surface during shipping?

Thanks for your help!

Tracy

[mikeknowle]

ok thanks fr the input guys, i think having read that i'll leave the mirror alone

thanks!

Just for interest, I saw a study once that showed you'd have to cover about 15% of the primary with dust before you'd perceive any drop-off in visual performance. Since then, I've never bothered about it!

[stolenfeather]

Leave it be. It seems that the old saying, "don't touch if it's not broken" works here. I'm sure you won't see anything while looking through the scope.

I wish you clear skies,

Isabelle