How do I?

Had my Orion Skyqueset xt 6 (dob) since auguest 3rd and i'm already starting to see dust and stuff collect on the bottom mirror (at the end of the telescope). How often do I need to clean that? Is it much to worry about so soon?

Casey:

I hope you didn't perform the dreaded flashlight test at night... A sure way to ruin the evening... Don't look at your mirror at night by shining a light down the tube, it will always look terribly dirty.

Keep your scope covered when not in use, I cover both ends and often the focuser as well. If you look carefully you can often see where dust can enter along in the focuser region. I am also careful to use something that is water proof so it really prevents the dust and not just seems like it does...

Thats what I do

jon

Casey
Now that you have advice on cleaning a mirror, how about posting in another forum your first nights out, where and what you observed. I had sent you a message a while back and am curious how the viewing is east of Spokane and if you had found a good observing site.

Casey,
Pick a date and clean your mirror once a year regardless of how much dust forms. Coatings do scratch when you "swab" cotton across it, no matter how careful you are. Make sure you THOURALY clean the larger particles off the mirror before you touch it with cotton. I've even seen David Krige from Obsession use a garden hose to initially remove the dust. Talking about the cotton.....Don't "swab" it. You just want to drag the cotton across the mirror letting only the weight of the cotton clean your mirror. Every stroke rotating the cotton to reduce scratching the coatings. Don't spare the cotton and sterile cotton is the only way to go. I was reading the post you left about tips on cleaning your mirror. You want to use only about a drop or two of Dawn dish washing detergent for every gallon of water. The purpose of the detergent is mainly for a sheeting action for water removal. It dosn't seem like much, but it's plenty. I would recommend getting yourself an absorbent microfiber cloth (preferably white), using the corner to dab up any left over drips of water.

Ask plenty of questions they don't cost much!!!

Clear skies,
Jay