How to Care for Your Telescope

Be cautious when caring for your telescope. Cleaning the optics can do more damage than letting the dust sit on them.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Towels
• Towels
• Towels
• De-mineralized Water
• Telescope Mirrors
• Large Cotton Balls And Swabs Balls
• 2 Hand Towels
• Telescopes
• Plastic Storage Containers
• Dishwashing Detergent
• Sky And Telescope Subscriptions
• Telescope Eyepieces
• Telescope Mountings
• Blower Brushes
• Bulb
• Camel's Hair Brushes
• Lens Caps

General Maintenance

1. Buy or make a hood to protect the telescope when not in use.

2. Keep the lens cap on when not in use. Make a lens cap for your eyepiece out of the top of a plastic film canister.

3. Store your telescope facing down to keep dust from collecting on the lenses.

4. Store extra eyepieces and lenses in sealed plastic bags or food containers.

5. Avoid touching the lens or mirrors with your fingers at all times. The dirt and oils from your skin can damage them.

6. Clean the touched surface as soon as possible if you did touch it.

7. Know that, unless done with extreme care and gentleness, cleaning lenses or mirrors often causes tiny scratches called sleeks.

Cleaning the Mirror

8. Remove any jewelry from your hands and arms.

9. Clean out the kitchen sink and place a towel on the bottom of it.

10. Fill the sink with lukewarm tap water and a little bit of detergent.

11. Place the mirror in the sink and swab it with sterile cotton.

12. Drain the sink.

13. Fill the sink with de-mineralized or distilled water and rinse the mirror.

14. Remove the mirror when rinsed and place it on a folded towel to the side of the sink. Let it air-dry completely.

Eyepieces and Accessories

15. Clean your eyepiece using a blower brush or a blower bulb.

16. Avoid air canisters or blowing dust off with your mouth. Both of these methods can put moisture on the glass.

17. Use the softest possible camel's hair brush with uncut bristles to brush dirt off the glass.

18. Store all accessories separately in sealed containers.

Tips & Warnings

• Dirty telescope optics can always be cleaned, but scratched optics can only be replaced.
• Don't shine a light down the telescope tube and then clean it on the basis of what you see. It will always appear dirty when viewed this way. Often you will do more damage cleaning your telescope than leaving it alone.

on 11/22/2005 A more effective way to clean a mirror would be to carefully pour a solution of alcohol and de-ionized water on the mirror.

Swirl this around and then gently poor away. This wiould be adequate and would leave no grease marks.

This advise was provided by Northampton Astronomy Society

on 11/22/2005 Never put bare objective lenses on your eye. This will have long term negative effects on your eye, because the images are blurry.

on 11/22/2005 Be careful that your telescope isn't always in a high humidity area.