TheUrbanSky

Cleaning your telescope optics!

pinkflyd34 — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:37:16 +0000

This has been written by Dr. Clay Sherrod. He is an expert in the telescope field. A true master. His website is at www.arksky.org. Please take a look and see what he has to offer. I felt that cleaning of your telescope optics has to be addressed. Some people use windex(death) and a towel. NEVER do anything like that. Please read and see what the true way of cleaning any optics. Telescope mirrors, secondary, eyepieces, binoculars, camera lenses, etc.

PREFACE:

There are many, many variations of high precision, high reflectivity and high transmission coatings presently offered on the market for both amateur and professional scientists who use OPTICS in their respective lines of study. Smaller glass surfaces with high transmission coatings have always been seemingly easy to clean, since the smaller surface area is not as prone to spotting, sleeking and streaking of the cleaner used. On the other hand, large optical surfaces such as telescope lenses, corrector plates and optical glass “windows” are very difficult to properly clean without some residue being left behind as a result of cleaning.

The ARKANSAS SKY OBSERVATORY’s new protocol for cleaning optical surfaces includes:

1) judging carefully when cleaning is actually necessary;

2) preparation of the optical surface for proper cleaning;

3) a new solution that combines the attributes of all previous formulae and results in very fast, easy, and streak-free results if used properly;

4) the proper new technique that is highly recommended for cleaning.

WHEN TO CLEAN OPTICS:

Although we are attempting to obtain the best possible light transmission efficiency from our optics by cleaning them free of deposits, film and debris, lock firmly in your memory that cleaning coated optical surfaces is the single-most damaging action that will be done to them, short of actual physical damage or breakage. No matter how careful, how delicate, nor what cleaning solution is used…..every time cleaned will result in a microscopically-reduced optical performance than before cleaning. Note that the coatings themselves – regardless who makes them and from what they are made – are nothing more than molecule-thick deposits of a very delicate film left on the optical surface from a vacuum process in which air is evacuated and the gases of the coating materials are gently and uniformly distributed across the glass surface after the vacuum container is void of air.

This system is devoted to the cleaning of large astronomical refractive optics: lens, corrector, and other optical glass; however the techniques discussed here as well as the new ASO SuperPlus Solution is excellent for the cleaning of eyepieces, eyeglasses, binoculars, camera lenses and all other fine coated optical surface.

So….the ground rule here is: CLEAN ONLY WHEN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. In most cases, dusting alone will lead to tremendous improvement in performance and overall light transmission.

PREPARATION TO CLEANING

DUSTING OPTICAL SURFACES: Large area optical surfaces are frequently plagued by DUST, POLLEN, GRIT, DEBRIS and even human skin and airborne hair. If the surface of the glass is allowed to be exposed at a temperature BELOW THE DEWPOINT, these particulates will stick to the glass and will be stubborn to remove. However, for optimum performance, it is essential to, indeed, remove debris from the optical surface. Your optical glass MUST be dusted when:

1) a flashlight held obliquely against the glass reveals a uniform and fairly thick layer of dust, etc;

2) when POLLEN is on the glass, as leaving pollen will result in “pollen sap” leaving a very difficult-to-remove stain on the surface;

3) ALWAYS prior to cleaning the glass with the solution and technique which follows.

Never clean optical glass without gently dusting first!

You will find in 3 out of 5 cases that merely dusting off the glass is sufficient to greatly enhance your performance back to optimum and that further physical cleaning is NOT necessary after dust removal. There can be a lot of smudges, stains, flecks and streaks on the glass before it actually begins to degrade your optical performance for all but the most exacting (i.e., high resolution planetary imaging, CCD spectrography and photometry, etc.) demands put upon your telescope.

To dust, use a SQUARE-CUT (not a tip-cut) very soft brush that is about 2″ (50mm) wide with tapered bristles. I have found several excellent such brushes at Lowe’s and Home Depot and other stores where quality painting supplies are sold. Look for the very soft and flexible “touch up” and/or “delicate trim” brushes….most of these are short-handled and have the bristles as an angled radius cut. Make sure that the bristles are incredibly soft; I use the “cheek method” for testing softness: take the brush out of its package and push the tiny ends of the bristles hard against the cheek of your face….if they do not “prick” then they are fine for optical use. Another tip on selecting a brush is the number of bristles….the MORE bristles on brushes just described, usually the softer and better the quality.

I start dusting by dusting the METAL SURFACES that surround the optics, ridding them of all debris first; just whisk away. Then start at the top of your glass and gently swipe the surface IN ONE DIRECTION….do NOT move back-and-forth with the brush. Stroke in only one direction. Do NOT rub….merely “pull” the brush across the surface and apply no pressure; let the brush do the work for your. Any particles that do not come off with such brush will be removed in subsequent cleaning with liquid if necessary.

The object of your dusting is to essential “move” all the particles to the bottom of the surface you are working on…once there you can brush them off the area and actually assist their removal by blowing gently against the areas being brushed.

USING COMPRESSED AIR: DON’T. Period. Dusting is easy, although it may take a little more time, and it is more effective. I have found that compressed air is virtually worthless for attempting to gently remove embedded particles on a glass surface and the chances of the liquid propellants within the can being expelled in liquid droplets against the glass is quite great.

The ASO SuperPlus Optical Cleaning Solution - how to mix it yourself!

There is NOTHING magic about the new concoction developed over a period of about five weeks here at the Arkansas Sky Observatory. SuperPlus Solution is quite simple, and indeed, there are many familiar components that are being used that have been touted in cleaning solutions before. Nonetheless, after hundreds of elixirs and hours later, this combination – in exactly the proportions given below – results in near-perfect results every time!

In striving for the “perfect cleaner” the following criteria were evaluated:

1) Streaking – the solution was required to dry streak free with minimal “dry rubbing” which can damage optical surfaces;

2) Spotting – the solution must dry spot-free with minimal rubbing;

3) Safety – the solution was required in all respects to be totally impervious to the optical coatings and totally safe for all variations of them on the market;

4) Simplicity – it needed to be something that anyone could mix up when needed with over-the-counter inexpensive components;

5) Sure-fire – it must work every time the first time….the less rubbing the better.

Experiments on all types of optical glass surfaces were conducted with EVERY cleaner offered by all makers and groups; the following SuperPlus Solution was derived as the “best of all of them” since all had some attributes that were worthy, with some extreme cases omitted. Interestingly although some of the solutions that have been previously offered were deemed very hazardous to the quality of cleaning and even the surfaces themselves, some components used within those solutions did HAVE MERIT and have been incorporated! You will be surprised perhaps at the simplicity of this.

HERE IS WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

Nearly all components should be available locally; suggested outlets for obtaining these are in parenthesis.

1) distilled water (supermarkets) 2) “pure” isopropyl alcohol (pharmacies, drug stores….may have to be ordered)

3) coffee filters 4) “regular” Windex, the blue kind (supermarket) 5) Kodak PhotoFlo solution (camera and photo houses only)

6) Synthetic Cotton Replacement Pads (some finer pharmacies, medical supply companies….ask your local M.D.!!)

7) two “atomizers” or simple squirt bottles for dispensing liquids (Wal Mart or similar) 8) box of KLEENEX [only!] pure white, no additives tissue (supermarket)

9) quart mixing jars, very clean and sterile (try your cabinets!) 10) sterile eye dropper (drug store).

NOTES ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS:

What an how you combine these components, as well as HOW you use them will make or break your success in streak-free and perfect cleaning; please make note of the following:

Pure Isopropyl Alcohol - NEVER use “regular” isopropyl alcohol. Isopropyl is what you commonly see in stores as “Rubbing Alcohol.” However, most on-the-shelf varieties is about 70% or less pure….the remaining 30% is impurities which WILL result in streaking and deposits on your glass. USE ONLY 91% OR HIGHER proof isopropyl….this is found on the same shelf typically, in very large and well-stocked pharmacies. If not, simply ask your pharmacist to order some! Expect to pay about double the price of the “store brand.”

Windex - Many cleaning formulae suggest Windex, indeed from one of the largest optical houses in the world. However, there has always been “something wrong” with Windex in that it leaves a ghostly film on optics. After much experimentation, I have found that it is the heavy impurities that are SUSPENDED in the solution that are responsible for the fog….you CAN get them out as you will see. NOTE that ONLY the blue Windex should be used. NEVER use any cleaner with vinegar on your optics.

Kodak Photo-Flo - If you have never used this before NOTE!!! This is extremely concentrated stuff and a tiny, tiny bit goes a very long way! We are talking DROPPER amounts here….NOT ounces. DO NOT USE MORE THAN RECOMMENDED….your results will be horrible.

Kleenex – ONLY USE pure white Kleenex, no other brands at all. Do not select Kleenex with “ultra softeners” or with scented oils. Only plain and simple pure white.

HERE IS HOW TO MIX ALL THIS STUFF:

You are making TWO solutions:

1) Solution 1 – Cleaning Solution: This is the active part of the cleaning and should be mixed very precisely in the quantities provided.

2) Solution 2 – Rinse Solution: This is ABSOLUTELY necessary for most cleaning session; however, you MAY find that you do NOT NEED the final solution if your optics dry streak-free (which likely they will!).

SOLUTION ONE: Cleaning Solution.

You are going to have much more solution of each component than need for one quart of final SuperPlus Cleaning Solution. Keep all left-over unused and unmixed components well sealed and marked for future use.

Step 1: FILTER THE WINDEX VIA THE COFFEE FILTER into a thoroughly washed and dried container; go ahead and filter the entire bottle as this is much simpler and more effective than attempting to filter one ounce.

Step 2: FILTER THE DISTILLED WATER using a second clean coffee filter into another jar. Yes, I know that distilled water is supposedly inclusion free, but trust me on this one.

Step 3: MIX…… In another quart jar, add the following (do NOT substitute nor change amounts!)

a) the filtered and purified WINDEX - 1 ounce

b) ALCOHOL – 1.5 ounce

c) PHOTO-FLO – two drops…that’s RIGHT, I said “two drops”….any more and you will be sorry. And I mean SMALL drops!! (about 1/16th ounce is pushing the limit)

Step 4: MIX together gently but do NOT shake.

Step 5: ADD 12 OUNCES OF Distilled water. I chose to mix my solution in empty quart plastic alcohol bottles; if doing so, merely fill the bottle to within 1″ of the top.

Step 6: Pour liquid into your MARKED squirt bottle for use.

SOLUTION TWO: Rinse Solution.

In 32 ounces of filtered distilled water add TWO drops (only!!) of Photo-Flo solution. No more no less. Transfer liquid into SECOND MARKED squirt bottle.

You are now ready to CLEAN your optics.

The ASO SuperPlus Cleaning Technique - You CAN do it right! The FIRST time!

**tip #1**

CLEAN OPTICS ONLY IN THE DAYTIME WITH THE OPTICAL SURFACE “LOOKING” OUT OF A WINDOW OR TOWARD A BRIGHT OPEN SKY

**tip #2**

NEVER….NEVER…ATTEMPT TO SURFACE CLEAN LARGE OPTICS WHEN THE HUMIDITY IS ABOVE 65% !! Streaking will result. If you attempt to clean your optics when the humidity is high, you will be very disappointed in the results.

**tip #3**

PLAN TO USE AT LEAST ONE TISSUE PER INCH APERTURE BEING CLEANED….ALWAYS keep a dry tissue to the surface for best results!

There is no solution that will result in satisfactory cleaning if your technique is NOT good when cleaning. Unfortunately with cleaning large glass surfaces, you must normally move quickly, but gently in order to obtain a streak-free and spot-free result. If you follow this technique, you can move a bit more slowly and deliberately AND achieve the same results.

** MAKE SURE YOU HAVE DUSTED OFF THE PARTICLES FROM THE GLASS PRIOR TO FURTHER CLEANING! (see above) **

STEP ONE – Turn your telescope so that you are FACING the corrector plate or lens head-on; you are NOT going to use so much liquid that you need to be worried about cleaning solution getting away from you and down inside the retaining rings of the optics. Make yourself comfortable….you may be here a while! I prefer placing the telescope if possible in a position where I can sit down to clean. You must have a small table or area within reach where you will have your Synthetic Cotton Replacement Pads, solutions and Kleenex waiting.

STEP TWO - Imagine your corrector plate or lens in QUADRANTS or quarters, like large sections of pie. You are going to begin at the TOP left and work your way down to the BOTTOM left piece of pie.

STEP THREE – Gently shake the container (Solution ONE – Cleaner) for just a brief moment and spray a generous amount of liquid onto the Synthetic Cotton Replacement Pad, NOT the glass surface. You want the Synthetic Cotton Replacement Pad WET, but not dripping; make sure you hold the pad only on ONE side and do not TURN to use the side where your fingers have been.

STEP FOUR – Begin in your upper left “quadrant” and gently daub (do NOT rub) this section until you have generously smeared the cleaning solution across the surface of ONLY that area. Never “push” the Synthetic Cotton Replacement Pad, only pull. Do NOT rub. The idea here is to ONLY move the liquid across the surface to break the adhesion of film and dirt deposits against the glass. MOVE QUICKLY TO STEP 5…..

STEP FIVE – Before the liquid begins to collect into large areas and before any drying takes place, immediately begin wiping the quadrant just soaked with KLEENEX tissue to dry it….to do this, you want to gently PULL the Kleenex across the surface in ONE DIRECTION ONLY…do NOT go back and forth as this will streak and will tear the tissue into endless amounts of clumps that will have to be removed from the surface. You will see the liquid rapidly drying behind you. Follow each swipe IMMEDIATELY with a DRY Kleenex tissue.

[reminder: keep changing to a dry tissue constantly!!]

STEP SIX – When entire quadrant is reasonably dry, buff gently with a totally dry Kleenex; repeat a second time with another Kleenex while gently “puffing” a bit of your breath against the corrector plate or lens to expose possible areas of streaking.

[reminder: keep changing to a dry tissue constantly!!]

STEP SEVEN – Repeat same procedure on remaining three quadrants with a bit of overlap on each.

[reminder: keep changing to a dry tissue constantly!!]

STEP EIGHT – Check each point where areas overlapped during cleaning and “touch up” using a fresh Synthetic Cotton Replacement Pad sprayed with a VERY SMALL amount of cleaner….you want this swab nearly dry, but just enough moisture to touch up defects in cleaning.

STEP NINE – Using your breath as a guide, gently “puff’ against the glass while using a Synthetic Cotton Replacement Pad to buff the final cleaned surface to a high luster with not streaking!

STEP TEN – [[OPTIONAL]] - USING THE RINSE SOLUTION

This step is likely NOT necessary and should ONLY be used if there is any streaking left after the careful cleaning procedure outlined above. If there are problem areas, you should rinse your cleaned corrector/lens as follows:

– spray a VERY SMALL amount of rinse solution onto the glass OR place some on a fresh Synthetic Cotton Replacement Pad…..you want only a tiny amount of liquid present to break the surface tension of the glass….remember, the glass is already cleaned from the CLEANING PROCEDURE. All you are attempting to do is to remove any streaks at this point.

– gently rub the Synthetic Cotton Replacement Pad across the entire glass area quickly but very lightly and follow WITH YOUR OTHER HAND a fresh dry Kleenex tissue to absorb any moisture remaining from the first pass. This should take care of streaking very quickly.

– again, buff the entire surface with a fresh and dry Synthetic Cotton Replacement Pad to finish.

——————

Best of luck and take your time…..this solution and technique will work on all coated glass surfaces (NOT MIRRORS) and the solution is ideal as well for your binocular, eyepieces and camera lenses.

The key to success is: 1) take your time; 2) work in small areas; 3) use LOTS of dry Kleenex; and, 4) use ONLY the materials and techniques described.

THE CLEANING OF OPTICAL SURFACES: MIRRORS

Part Two: Front surface mirrors, secondary mirrors and mirrored diagonals

by P. Clay Sherrod, Arkansas Sky Observatories

Part One of the ASO Fine Optics Cleaning Procedures discusses the methods and protocol for proper cleaning and maintenance of refractive optics: lenses, corrector plates, binocular lenses, eyepieces, etc. The cleaning solution and procedure is a tried and proven method for all coated (enhanced or non-reflective) surfaces as well as glass surfaces which have no coatings.

The cleaning of front surface mirrored surfaces is much, much different than that of refractive optics; many times the reflective surfaces might be of deposits of enhanced silver or aluminum which may or may not be overcoated with some protective layer (usually a molecule-thick layer of Silicon Dioxide or similar) of transparent material.

Your first step in attempting to clean ANY reflective optics is to first ascertain whether or not your mirrored surface is indeed protected by such a coating, since the cleaning solution AND procedure to clean without damage is quite specific for protected vs. unprotected mirror surfaces.

Note that the following discussions include all reflecting optics: primary mirrors, secondary mirrors (both flats and curved), mirror diagonals and any ancillary optical equipment which uses a mirror in the optical interface.

DETERMINING MIRROR PROTECTION

A very simple rule for deciding whether or not your mirror surface is protected: if you do NOT know, assume that it is NOT coated.

Most manufacturers of Newtonian mirrors supply the finished product with a coating of silicon dioxide over the final aluminized or silvered coatings; ASK whether your mirror is coated….if you cannot get an answer, then assume that it is not.

On the other hand, most primary and secondary mirrors of popular catadioptic (Schmidt-Cassegrain and Maksutov) are NOT protective-coated unless otherwise specified.

There is a good reason that many manufacturers do not put protective coatings on telescope mirrors: they can reduce performance, both in terms of optical figure (irregularities in deposited protective coatings can change the wave front of your mirror) and in terms of reflectivity (many new mirror systems have “enhanced” coatings which contain highly reflective alloys in addition to aluminum. However, since most enhanced coatings also contain the element SILVER, and since silver tarnished instantly with exposure to oxygen, the chances of enhanced optics being overcoated are pretty good in your favor.

Attempts to clean uncoated optics can result very quickly in permanent damage: sleeking (leaving streaks within the coatings themselves) or spotting is very common, even if the utmost care has been used. Never, should any cleaning agent whatsoever be used on unprotected mirror surfaces or damage will occur 100 percent of the time. Simply do not take the chance.

CLEANING IN RELATION TO MIRROR ACCESS

In some modern telescopes, it may be undesirable OR even impossible to totally remove the primary mirror for the typical consumer and end-user; thus cleaning will likely take place less often than it would if the mirror were smaller or easy to remove from the optical tube assembly.

Remember my Number One Rule on Optics Cleaning: “Don’t….unless you absolutely have to.”

Number Two Rule is: “Brush first and then determine if cleaning is still necessary.”

Brushing optics and carefully using compressed air to blow off particulates such as pollen and dust can usually get the mirror or optics back into top shape, and cleaning should be done only if there are stains or excessive spotting beginning to build up on the mirror’s surface.

With catadioptic commercial telescopes, cleaning the primary should be avoided at all costs….prevention is the best care you can give the optics of these telescopes: keep the back opening plugged at all times, even when briefly removing accessories….plug it up until you are ready to insert a new gadget. This keeps both dust and insects from floating in AND it prevent humidity and damaging environmental pollutants from entering the inside of the OTA.

In one of the following procedures, not that I discuss cleaning (essential cleaning only….) the mirror of a commercially-built catadioptic by leaving the mirror IN PLACE. Never attempt to remove the mirror of these telescopes unless you have experienced and competent assistance.

CLEANING SOLUTIONS FOR FRONT SURFACE MIRRORS

To preface any discussion about what is needed for cleaning mirrors, it is important to note that complete immersion cleaning of most large (i.e, Newtonian) mirrors is recommended, and thus the “solution” quantity is much greater. There is no need to make up batches of cleaning solutions and store….just make it when you get ready to clean your mirror. Essentially all that you are going to need are two pairs of surgical cotton gloves, a clean terrycloth towel, a small amount of IVORY dishwashing liquid, a jug of distilled water and a few white Kleenex tissues…..oh, a large sink, bathtub, or basin.

Conversely, to clean unprotected mirrors requires ONLY a very small amount of high pure alcohol content solution and nothing more, since ONLY spot cleaning should ever be attempted; if any unprotected mirror surface becomes so pitted or stained that whole-mirror cleaning is needed…..it is time to send the mirror and/or OTA in for a complete re-coating job. No exceptions.

CLEANING MIRRORS WITH PROTECTIVE OVERCOATING

Again, if there is any doubt whatsoever that your mirror has protective overcoatings, assume that it does NOT have protection or be prepared to face the consequences.

IMPORTANT NOTE: rarely do secondary mirrors and diagonal mirrors have any protective coating; always assume that they have front surface exposed enhanced coatings and never clean except as described later.

1) In a basin large enough to hold your mirror and still have adequate room for your hands to grasp around the edges, prepare a solution of the following:

(based on one-half full kitchen sink quantity….this does not have to be exact! For larger basins, such as a bath tub or wash tub, use proportionately similar detergent-to-water ratio)

a) warm, not hot tap water in which you have added ONE TEASPOON of Ivory Liquid dishwashing solution….do not be tempted to use more.

b) a thick folded towel placed on the floor of the basin;

c) turn off all fans, vents and central heating/air during this process!

2) Remove all jewelry, including wrist watch and put one pair of the TWO pairs of new surgical cotton gloves on your hands

3) For Newtonian and similar mirrors, first remove the mirror and its cell from the telescope OTA; then remove the mirror from the cell…remember, NEVER touch the front surface of your mirrors…your fingerprint contains acid and oils and can be the most damaging element to your mirror!

NOTE: as with all glass, telescope mirrors become incredibly slippery and hard to handle when wet. Make every precaution to protect the mirror and you will be safest is you “assume the worst” and prepare for the mirror to slip. This means putting a large folded clean towel in the floor of the basin in which the cleaning will be done; having another clean towel folded against a wall and resting on the floor where the mirror will dry.

4) Place the mirror FACE UP carefully down in the basin, resting on the towel, making sure that you have enough solution to completely cover the entire top surface completely.

5) Allow mirror to soak for at least 5 minutes but NO LONGER than 15 minutes. Do not touch the surface of the mirror at this time.

6) While soaking mirror, remove the cotton gloves and place them in the solution with the mirror to prevent contamination.

7) After about 5 minutes refit gloves but do not touch anything outside of the basin; at this time you are going to very, very gently – with NO pressure – massage against the front surface of the mirror with the tips of your fingers….do NOT rub and do not use any type of cloth or tissue at this point, only fingertips [[note that you MAY use Kim-Wipes or Intrinsic type pads for this process]]. It is fine to “lay down” your fingers and cover more surface…..your are essentially “buffing” the entire surface with the dishwashing liquid using only fingertips.

8) Once done, rotated the mirror 90 degrees and once again massage the entire surface.

9) Occasionally tilt the mirror out of the water for only 30 seconds maximum and examine it…..if there are places that you missed, it will be obvious; if need be, run a very gentle stream of water out of the tap or pour from a pitcher across the mirror and examine while wet; return to basin and massage needed areas until entire mirror is uniformly clean and free of streaks.

10) Leaving the mirror flat in the basis, remove all soapy water from the tub but LEAVE the towel beneath the glass for safety; as the water recedes, begin flushing the surface of the mirror immediately with cold tap water…NEVER ALLOW THE MIRROR SURFACE TO DRY!

11) [note: an assistant is quite helpful at this point!] – Once the mirror has been flushed adequately with tap water, begin tilting the mirror upward at about a 45-degree angle; placing an adequate mass of towels behind it is helpful, but careful to not let the mirror slip in the basin! CONTINUE flushing with tap water while doing this…do not let the mirror go dry……have a pitcher of distilled water within reach and shut off the tap water, and immediately flush with distilled water; allow the flush to drip off the mirror and do it again, using only distilled water.

12) REMEMBER – your gloves are soapy….once you have reverted to the distilled water rinse REMOVE the cotton gloves and work with your bare hands only, being careful to only touch the edge of the glass and never touch the optical surface.

13) Lift the mirror out, keeping the surface vertical to the floor and immediately place on the waiting towel on the floor and lean the mirror carefully at a sharp angle against a wall….use extra towels to assure that the mirror will not roll nor tumble. The angle allows the liquid to roll off the surface, thereby reducing substantially the amount of dry water spotting that can occur. NOW, put the second pair of cotton gloves on your hands for safe handling of the mirror from this point forward.

14) After only TWO MINUTES maximum in the drying position (#12), identify any beads of water that are NOT rolling off the surface; these can be easily removed by “wicking”, a process in which you roll up a white Kleenex tissue into a “pencil” and touch to the drop…NEVER RUB…..the tissue will wick the water up off the glass and safely away.

15) Allow to air dry, (with ALL VENTS from air conditioning/heating closed!) for one hour.

16) Some dust might accumulate during the drying process….use a quality soft artists square tip (see Cleaning Refractive Optics, Part One) brush to remove such lint, but ONLY after one hour of drying time!

CLEANING PROTECTED MIRRORS WHICH CANNOT BE REMOVED:

The above procedure allows for cleaning a primary mirror which can be removed and immersed in a basin; some protected mirrors (i.e., larger Newtonians, some newer SCT and RC catadioptic telescopes) are made in such a way that mirror removal is very difficult or should NOT be attempted. You clean this in three steps.

[DISCLAIMER: From experience, I will state that such mirrors should NOT be cleaned, only brushed and blown off with compressed air; I do not, nor does ASO, recommend the following cleaning procedure; the following procedure can be used by skilled and experienced persons in telescope maintenance, but is not recommended for the normal owner/operator of telescope systems. This is the procedure and technique used in the ASO Supercharge and only used when absolutely necessary, and we do not assume any liability from product damage from any attempts at such cleaning.]

CLEANING LIQUID: For such surfaces, use essentially the same process, but instead of immersion, we are going to give your mirror a “sponge bath” applying the soapy liquid (about one gallon water to each one-half teaspoon of Ivory dishwashing liquid). For this you will NEVER USE TAP WATER, only distilled water for both cleaning and rinsing.

RINSING LIQUID: You will also need ONE OUNCE of pure (91% or higher) isopropyl alcohol and one capful of Kodak PhotoFlo per gallon of distilled water for RINSE (not wash). The application of both solution AND rinse MUST be done using either Kim-Wipes (Kimberly-Clark) or Intrinsic Pads (Barnhardt Industries of South Carolina)…never, ever use any cloth, tissue or “lens cleaning cloth” for this cleaning or damage will occur.

FINAL RINSE: A final rinse of pure distilled water is absolutely imperative…you must do this final step.

1) Place first pair of cotton gloves on hands

2) Have your one gallon of cleaning solution (distilled water with 1/2 teaspoon of Ivory Liquid) handy with a pad soaking in it; likewise you must have your gallon of RINSE solution (gallon of distilled water with one ounce of pure isopropyl alcohol and one small capful of Kodak PhotoFlo) ready with pad soaking it that as well! Your final rinse with pure distilled water needs to be made immediately, so have that ready as well.

3) Put the telescope so that the mirror is angled sharply, i.e., nearly vertical to the ground….your access to the mirror will limit what angles you might be able to achieve here.

4) Making sure that the wipe or pad is ALWAYS completely soaked, but not dripping all over the inside of the OTA, gently begin wiping (Never rubbing!!) across the top 1/2 of the mirror surface; immediately …during this process, it is absolutely imperative that you continue to resoak and freshen the cleaning pad…never let it dry out so much that surface tension increases against the glass!!

5) Even though you have only done 1/2 of the mirror (always start at the top), you must now quickly RINSE what you have cleaned, using the fresh pad in the rinse solution; keep an abundant (but never dripping) amount of rinse liquid always against the glass! Once the rinse is made, cover the mirror surface that you just cleaned with adequate distilled water final rinse and proceed to clean the lower one-half of the mirror.

6) Once both halves have been cleaned and initial rinse completed, return to the entire mirror and wipe down with copious amounts of distilled water final rinse (no alcohol); repeat twice. Never use so much that your pad is dripping into the telescope tube assembly.

7) Check for water drops that are not quickly evaporating….use a “Kleenex pencil” as a wick to soak up those drops…never rub!

8) Allow to dry in vertical position, with OTA end cap open but with soft cotton sheet over front, for about one hour.

9) Remove any lint or dust with brush or blow off, but do not attempt until after one hour.

USE EXTREME CARE IF ATTEMPTING THE AFOREMENTIONED PROCESS and never attempt unless it is absolutely imperative.

CLEANING MIRRORS WITHOUT PROTECTIVE OVERCOATING

Very much unlike the previous discussion, cleaning unprotected mirror surfaces should be a “last resort” and is NOT recommended to the normal telescope user. Only if fingerprints, bug droppings, pollen sap, etc. collects on the unprotected mirror surface should any attempt be made to clean. Brushing is encouraged, but cleaning is discouraged.

For this cleaning, you need ONLY a quart bottle of pure isopropyl alcohol (91% is the minimum….94% is far better) and either Intrinsic wipes (Barnhardt Industries) or pure white Kleenex with no additives….NEVER use cotton or cotton balls to clean. Never use Q-tips for cleaning small surfaces, only the pads or tissues as specified.

NEVER attempt to clean the entire surface of ANY unprotected mirror, whether it be a primary mirror or a small flat mirror in your diagonal assembly. Clean ONLY spots and areas needing cleaning.

IMPORTANT: never attempt to clean any spot larger than one inch using this procedure. Use only the following procedure:

1) Place a bright light so that it shines directly onto the surface to be cleaned; you need to be able to see the reflection of the light as well as move your line of sight to inspect so that the light does not shine directly back at you; viewing both ways allows you to examine for streaks and also can assist in preventing you from “over-rubbing” any cleaned area;

2) Put on cotton surgical gloves and locate your area to be cleaned.

3) Put ample alcohol onto your pad or tissue, making it soaked, but not dripping.

4) Very gently wipe the solution across the stain…do NOT rub at all…not one bit. Rubbing will remove your coatings!

5) Follow that wipe with a second one using a totally different wipe or tissue, also soaked with alcohol.

6) Finish by wiping off excess with a fresh dry wipe…..no rubbing, only a light swipe across the surface!

This method can be used on secondary mirrors, unprotected primary mirrors and enhanced coated diagonal mirrors.

HOWEVER, such cleaning is a last resort….never clean unnecessarily and never clean unless it must be done.

Remember what we have always preached at ASO: the single most damaging thing that you can do to your precious telescope optics is to CLEAN THEM. While it is perfectly safe to clean the protected primary mirror OR the front corrector plate of a catadioptic (ASO Part One), it is an entirely different undertaking to clean unprotected mirror surfaces.

My utmost recommendations concerning cleaning of unprotected mirrors?

DO NOT ….. Let those with experience do it for you or live with the small imperfections….when they get too big, it is time for new coatings.

Best of luck and enjoy your telescopes…may the stars always shine their brightest through them.

New Telescope and Mount!

pinkflyd34 — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 02:38:37 +0000

Well its been a while since my last post. Had a lot of personal things going on, but I am back! During hurricane Irene my observatory was demolished and my telescope equipment was damaged beyond repair. Fast forward a couple months and I now have all new equipment! I purchased an Orion Atlas Mount, Celestron 8″ Edge HD scope and a few odds and ends. I had a Meade LXd75 mount and a Meade SN8 scope.

As you can see from the photo there is a big difference in size. I was totally caught off guard by the weight and size of the Atlas. You can instantly feel and see that this is a big step up from the LXD75. I have only used it a few times so far, but it’s much better in every aspect. Setting it up is a bit more difficult because of the weight and I personally think it should be put on a pier if at all possible. This will be done for me once my observatory is put back together. Polar alignment is simple. Love that it is lighted up from the power of the scope. NO small batteries. It also has a few constellations to let you know how to align the declination axis. My first night out I didn’t put the counterweight bar down and couldn’t understand why I couldn’t see polaris! Took me a good 45 minutes to figure out that one! Once I ahd the scope balanced and ready to go. Everything went smooth. I did a 2 star alignment and both stars were visable in a 17mm eyepiece. Used a recticle, centered them up and all was good. Slewed to Jupiter for my first view. Got it dead center. Looked wonderful. M42 was my next target and bang dead center. I also purchased an adapter to connect my DSLR to my telescope and got an image of M42. It was 10-30 second exp. Not bad for a first image.

I am now waiting for my new autoguider and hopefully going to get some great photos. Updates to follow!

Wonderful world of DSLR!

pinkflyd34 — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 04:32:17 +0000

Well it’s been a while since my last post. Sorry had other things to attend to! Recently got out my OLD Celestron CG5 telescope mount. Did a bit of an overhaul on it. Re-greased the gears and put on some basic motors that I had sitting around. All went without a hitch, which if you are into telescopes, is a rare occasion! It’s really a funny thing how something so rigged up can work pretty well! I have a 2.5lb weight from a barbell set and its held in place with a bunch of velcro. I used an old piece of wood and a scrap piece of metal to mount the camera on.

My cheapo DSLR setup!

So for the past couple weeks I’ve been fine tuning my photography skills. I still need to really read up on everything my Canon EOS 1000d can do. I really have no idea what all the settings are for! It’s all been for fun in the beginning. I just plop my mount and camera on the deck set the the camera for a 30 second exposure at ISO 200 @F5.6-9. Let the camera do the rest. I really have to say that the pictures are coming out pretty good. I hope by the end of the summer I should have a better handle on what works best.

I also have jumped into a bit of macro shooting! I guess instead of going for shots billions of yight years away I would shoot things that are super close up! I like going to extremes! Anyway went out and bought a cheap macro lens made by vivitar. I dont even know the specs on it without looking so thats not going to happen! It cost about 150 for everything and I LOVE taking pictures of things close up. I will upload a few pictures soon. I have to say that having a tripod is an absolute must! I just look around the house for odd things to photograph and sometimes I come up with some great shots! Ok I guess my rant is over for now! Hope I didnt put you to sleep! Photos should be up shortly! Enjoy!

List of my Equipment!

pinkflyd34 — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 05:06:45 +0000

Meade LDX 75 SN8

Astro-Tech AT66 APO

Meade ETX 80

Celestron Skyscout

Nikon 10×50 binoculars

Canon EOS 1000d camera

Meade DSI pro mono camera

Meade DSI color camera

Various solar filters

Meade series 5000 8.8mm eyepiece

Meade series 4000 26 mm eyepiece

Meade series 4000 17mm eyepiece.

Various eyepiece filters for visual and astrophotography.

2 green laser pointers

Telrad

Couple laser collimaters. A must for any Newt.

Dell laptop dedicated for astro imaging. 2.2 Ghz with 2 gigs of ram.

Oh and my kick ass Observatory! The Dark Side of the Moon.

2x barlow lens(2)

Drift Alignment.

pinkflyd34 — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 05:04:42 +0000

There is a lot of ways to set your telescope for great astro imaging. This method is what I use and find that it works very well. If you have your mount on a pier this should only have to be done once in a while. If you are using a tripod and move it in and out this should be done each and every time you bring your scope out.
1. Move your mount in RA until your telescope is on the East side of the mount and the counter weight bar is flat and pointing East/West.
2. Point the telescope SOUTH and about 60-70 degrees above the horizon.
(Note: Install the diagonal in the refractor with the Illiuminated Rec. eyepiece pointing straight up.)
3. Pick a star….ANY Star. Brighter stars will be easier to work with.
4. Insert your Illuminated Reticle Eyepiece I use this one and it works just fine.
http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=30-155-1778
5. Move the eyepiece in the scope so the star follows the East/West Reticle Line. You may have to shut off your scope in the beginning to see which way the stars drift. Then once you found the direction you can re-start your scope.
6 Now use the RA buttons on the hand controller and put the star ON one of the lines. NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LINES.
7. Watch the star. If the star drifts UP move the MOUNT AZ(Not with the hand controller) so the star moves down. Vice Versa if it moves Down. I use a stop watch on my phone to keep track of time.
8. I would keep doing this so the star does not move for 10 minutes. Some people say 5 minutes. This is up to you. Just remember that the longer the star stays put the longer exposures you will be able to take. Resulting in more defintion in your astro photos.
Now we are 1/2 way done.
9. Now restart your hand controller.
10 Pick a star that is Due East and about 30 degrees about the Eastern Horizon. Do a “goto” to that star.
11. This is important! When at the Eyepiece you should be facing NORTH. You should be facing Polaris when looking in your eyepiece and Standing SOUTH of the telescope.
12. Put the star( any star as described above) on the East/West line and let it drift.
13. If the star drifts UP use the ALT adjustments on your mount and move the star DOWN.
14. If the star drifts DOWN use the ALT adjustments on your mount and move the star UP.
15. Use your hand controller and move the star back ON THE LINE.
16. Keep doing this until the star stays ON THE LINE for 10 minutes.
17. If you have a barlow, this may help speed things up.

My first post!

pinkflyd34 — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 05:01:03 +0000

Well folks this is my first attempt at a blog. Have to thank my buddy Mike for giving me the idea. Here is a link to his blog. http://abovethemasses.com/ This will mainly be used for my love of astronomy. Although I am sure I will be inserting a bunch of other things going on in my life. I have been enjoying this hobby for the past 7 years or so. I have my own observatory “The Dark Side of the Moon” and love taking images of the night sky. I plan to update my blog with lots of images and whatever else I feel is relevant. Please leave some comments so I know someone else besides myself is reading this! Enjoy!

I am Live!

pinkflyd34 — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 03:37:13 +0000

Well folks this is my first attempt at a blog. Have to thank my buddy Mike for giving me the idea. Here is a link to his blog. http://abovethemasses.com/ This will mainly be used for my love of astronomy. Although I am sure I will be insterting a bunch of other things going on in my life. I have been enjoying this hobby for the past 7 years or so. I have my own observatory “The Dark Side of the Moon” and love taking images of the night sky. I plan to update my blog with lots of images and whatever else I feel is relevant. Please leave some comments so I know someone else besides myself is reading this! Enjoy!