That New Telescope Smell

[Pixies]

Is it just me (or my new scope), but when I take off the dust cap, there is a very distinctive solvent-like smell?

It's a Bresser 8" dob. It could be paint, glue, lubricant, or a mixture. Anyway - I quite like it. I guess it will wear off pretty soon.

[Supernova74]

Well if it’s a solvent based perhaps it’s just the paint inside the OTA tube basically as thay blacken with some kind of spray I believe as keeps unwanted light going astray and what thay use to improve contrast also

[johninderby]

Bresser uses a ruberised anti reflection coating not just paint so it’e probably that.

Edited May 17, 2020 by johninderby

[Sunshine]

Yes, my scope is no longer new, maybe a year or so but, when I remove the dust cap I can smell that same solvent type smell.

[Guest]

There's a 20 year old Meade 114-900 reflector that smells like the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, up in Glasgow. It's like a combination of a burnt, kind of ancient dusty smell.  That's the only way I can describe it.😕

[Waddensky]

My dob is many years old, and still has a distinct smell when I take off the dust cap. I've come to associate it with a night under the stars. A kind of pavlovian conditioning, I guess. Not that I start to drool, but you get the point 😉.

[johninderby]

Telescope sniffing...............whatever next. 😁

Licking🤔. Noooooooooooooooo🙀

[JeremyS]

11 hours ago, Pixies said:

Is it just me (or my new scope), but when I take off the dust cap, there is a very distinctive solvent-like smell?

It's a Bresser 8" dob. It could be paint, glue, lubricant, or a mixture. Anyway - I quite like it. I guess it will wear off pretty soon.

I'm glad I am not the only one that likes the smell of new telescopes. I was beginning to think I was a little odd.

I am also partial to the smell of new Berlebach tripods, but that is also because I like the small of new wood and varnish. I note that the small dissipates faster than new telescope smell, though.

[Rob]

Totally agree.. I love it too. Only last week I tried to explain this to my Wife when I removed the Bresser dust cap from the 127L!. She just gave me a look to say 'Your nuts!, and I married you.'

I'll keep the astro thoughts and comments to myself in future

Rob

[johninderby]

All this about the smell of telescopes reminded me of this bit I read on the smell of space for some reason. 🤔. 😁

”Most memorably, the dust cloud at the center of the Milky Way contains large amounts of ethyl formate. This is the compound that, on Earth, gives raspberries their flavor. Yes, raspberries. What’s more, ethyl formate itself is created from a reaction between acid and a type of alcohol, which gives it a smell similar to that of rum. (Ironically, alcohol is one of the foods that are banned from space.) The smell of space—or at least that part of space!—doesn’t seem so bad anymore.”

[Neil H]

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

Telescope sniffing...............whatever next. 😁

Licking🤔. Noooooooooooooooo🙀

If they put up any more satellites we will all be sniffing or licking there will be no use trying to look in the scope lol

if you got the money why not stop every looking at the stars what a Barclays banker

Edited May 18, 2020 by Neil H

[Pixies]

I keep my binoculars in a cupboard (near the back door) where we used to have a box of Indian Dalit candles. The candles were only lit once (smelt nice in shop, but not alight). They were thrown out years ago, but the binoculars still smell of them! 

 

[John]

I think FLO should introduce a "scratch and sniff" facility on their website

 

[johninderby]

Firther to the galactic centre smelling of rum  😁😁😁

https://www.masterofmalt.com/rum/central-galactic/central-galactic-spiced-rum/

Edited May 18, 2020 by johninderby