Need some equip info.

[Rick King]

I live in south Mississippi and the humidity down here is so bad that u can bathe with it. Lol My celestron 8SE fogs up about 15 minutes after I bring it outside. I'm spending more time wiping the lens than I am looking at stars. Wat should I do?

[Dave In Vermont]

Move North? But seriously.....

First of all, are you using a dew-shield? If so, perhaps a longer one could solve your problem while being the least costly solution. Homemade one's are fun to construct if you like do-it-yourself projects. Other ideas:

Look into a dew-heater, perhaps. Though it seems disingenuous (applying heat to undo the results of heat), it may help. But the first thing I'd do is look for a local astronomy-club. Get in touch with them and see if they don't have an open-night where a visitor would be welcome to join and attend the night. Now wander about and ask thepeople there what they find works best in the abyssmal humidity.

This would also be a great way to see what other things the crowd uses and likes - eyepieces, filters, etc. And you'll get to meet fellow astronomy enthusiasts. Perhaps joining, maybe?

And I wouldn't keep "wiping the lens" without using proper material. This can damage the coatings on your corrector-plate.

Good Luck!

Dave

[RT65CB-SWL]

1 hour ago, Rick King said:

I live in south Mississippi and the humidity down here is so bad that u can bathe with it. Lol My celestron 8SE fogs up about 15 minutes after I bring it outside. I'm spending more time wiping the lens than I am looking at stars. Wat should I do?

How long are you leaving the 'scope before viewing?

8" catadioptric 'scopes normally need a minimum of 30-40 minutes to cool down/acclimatize to the ambient temperature. And as Dave has suggested, buy or make a dewshield if you do not have one already.  

[Dave S]

Here in the UK autumn seems to be dew season for me.  I have a small travel hairdryer that I use to gently dry off the dew.  

As mentioned don't wipe the optics.

 

Dave...

[Tim]

US firm Astrozap make an SCT dewband and dew shield combined.

If you can keep the temperature of the corrector plate just higher than the dew point, you will have no troubles. You'll need a 12v DC supply and an adjustable controller too. These have worked for me in extreme moisture conditions, while observing near the sea.

 

[ollypenrice]

Yup, heated dewband and good dewsheild. I think it's the only way with an SCT.

Olly

[MikeSE19]

In hot humid conditions leave the scope outside long enough for the optics to warm up to ambient temperature. as previously mentioned a hair dry will speed things up.

[Louis D]

Or switch to a solid tube Newtonian.  Because the mirrors face each other inside a long tube, they don't tend to dew up in my experience here in humid Texas (as opposed to dry West Texas).  The tube acts like a long dew shield.

[Waldemar]

+1  for the dewshield with heater

[Rick King]

Thanks guys for the info. I ordered a dew shield and it works great. It still fogs up some, so I brought my hair dryer out. That works pretty good too.