Help!! I've Got Dirt!!!

[JayTee]

So here is a daylight image from my ZWO ASI120MC and as you can see there are a lot of spots (of something) showing in the image. I circled all the spots in red.

The problem is that I have cleaned the glass cover over the sensor and it is spotless as far as I can tell. Not sure what to do next.

Thanks,
JT

[Lady Fraktor]

I think UlteriorModem had this same issue last year perhaps(?) and it was dust under the sensor cover I believe.

[Gordon]

I assume you were using a scope. Any dust there? Typically the smaller the dust spots are the further away from the sensor. It would appear these were either on the IR filter or sensor cover (either inside or outside. You need to avoid cleaning the sensor itself if you can help it.

[JayTee]

The sensor is covered by a piece of glass. It appears to be sealed. I see no way of getting past that glass to the sensor. I’ve inspected that piece of glass under a high intensity light and I can see nothing on it.

Still wondering what to do,
JT

[Gordon]

Flat frames? That's about all I got left....

[JayTee]

Well, apparently if you get off your lazy butt and do a little homework, you'll find that the manufacturer has put out a publication specifically addressing cleaning your ZWO ASI camera.

All done, it was almost stupidly easy, and no more dirt!

Cheers,
JT

[Don Quixote]

Well, apparently if you get off your lazy butt and do a little homework, you'll find that the manufacturer has put out a publication specifically addressing cleaning you ZWO ASI camera.

All done, it was almost stupidly easy, and no more dirt!

Cheers,
JT

Wow JT.
I looked that up and read it. That is really great that this can be done. Now I just need that camera. :-)

Thank you for this educational post.
Maybe you could sticky those instructions somewhere.

[Brian]

I have had dust almost in focus on the focal reducer and field flattener. That is a possibility

[Brian]

Well, apparently if you get off your lazy butt and do a little homework, you'll find that the manufacturer has put out a publication specifically addressing cleaning your ZWO ASI camera.

All done, it was almost stupidly easy, and no more dirt!

Cheers,
JT

Hello,

Did I miss something? At face value, this seems like a pretty hostile answer to a reasonable question. I suspect that there are no lazy butts involved since someone took the time to circle features of interest and post a picture.

My understanding of public forums is that no one is required to participate in a conversation if they do not want to. Shouldn’t this be a place where we enjoy talking about a shared hobby together? I am disturbed that this response got “likes” from other admins/mods. Is this the tone this newish forum is going to take?

Best,
Brian

[Brian]

I saw this report on cleaning a ZWO camera. Perhaps your camera is similar:

https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/ma ... iccant.pdf

[bladekeeper]

Well, apparently if you get off your lazy butt and do a little homework, you'll find that the manufacturer has put out a publication specifically addressing cleaning your ZWO ASI camera.

All done, it was almost stupidly easy, and no more dirt!

Cheers,
JT

Hello,

Did I miss something? At face value, this seems like a pretty hostile answer to a reasonable question. I suspect that there are no lazy butts involved since someone took the time to circle features of interest and post a picture.

My understanding of public forums is that no one is required to participate in a conversation if they do not want to. Shouldn’t this be a place where we enjoy talking about a shared hobby together? I am disturbed that this response got “likes” from other admins/mods. Is this the tone this newish forum is going to take?

Best,
Brian

Hi Brian! JayTee is referring to himself with his lazy butt comment. He is the original poster of the thread and is essentially replying to himself here.

It is a self-deprecating humorous retort.

I always appreciate self-deprecating humor. I find it to be a respectable trait.

[Brian]

I see, I missed that. Must have gotten too little sleep after last night’s session. In that case all is fine

[Brian]

Apologies for my confusion JT.

[fatboy1271]

Well, apparently if you get off your lazy butt and do a little homework, you'll find that the manufacturer has put out a publication specifically addressing cleaning your ZWO ASI camera.

All done, it was almost stupidly easy, and no more dirt!

Cheers,
JT

Hey JT,

Would you mind sharing a link to the info? Sorry if I missed it in the thread...

fat

[JimMinCT]

Bryan put up a good one about 4 frames up... I got spots on my guide camera... Now I know how to get rid of them.

Thanks, Bryan....

[JayTee]

Yep, the document Brian linked to above is the one I used.

Cheers,
JT

[Stuart]

I don't have that camera, but I do know about dust bunnies. They are everywhere and impossible to completely get rid of. That's why we do flat frames!
But it's always good to start clean if you can. I clean my primary objective on my refractor once every year or so.