Total Newbie

[taxman0720]

Hello. First I want to thank everyone for the encouragement on getting a Celestron Nexstar 6 SE. I just received it yesterday. I have a couple of questions. I can probably google them, but I rather get the expert advice on this forum.

Is it OK to store in the garage? I live in Texas where it gets really hot and somewhat cold.

So, Jupiter was shinning bright last night so I figure I would start with that. I live in a small town so I know there is light pollution and viewing is determined on how clear the atmosphere is. Anyway, I got Jupiter in my sights and it was pretty large using a 25mm eyepiece but hazy. I started messing with the focus knob and all of the sudden I started seeing a dark circle that looked like it had cross hairs in it. I was at the extreme of my focus knob. Is this normal? It almost looked like the innards of the telescope. I put the focus back to where it was and Jupiter was back in my site, hazy, but normal looking. I started scanning the stars and each was a focused point of light.

Thanks for any help.

Tony

[Shabadoo]

Normal.
You saw the spider vein at the end of your optical tube.
Congrats on Jupiter!

[helicon]

Yes, spider veins of the secondary mirror. This is normal.

[Lady Fraktor]

You were seeing the secondary mirror, though there are no spider vanes in an SCT.
The defocused view is normal so nothing to worry about
Good to hear you managed to get it outside quickly.

If you do not have one, make a dewshield/ light shield for the telescope as it will help keep stray light from hitting the corrector plate.

[taxman0720]

That makes me feel better. A dewshield is definitely on my list. Any thoughts about keeping the Telescope in the garage?

[JayTee]

Hello

All of my telescope gear lives in the garage boxed and or covered. Your telescope was designed to be outside. This means it can handle the temperature extremes.
Hope this helps.

Cheers,
JT

[AntennaGuy]

I have no expertise at all about the storage of telescopes, but I live in Texas too, and I can assure you that any nice new telescope belongs in the living room, not the garage, so you can constantly bask in its demonstrable beauty, show it off to your envious visitors, stimulate conversation toward more-interesting topics (like astronomy), etc.
:twocents:

Oh, and welcome aboard.

[helicon]

Gabrielle is right. There are no spider vanes in an SCT. I was thinking, incorrectly, that you had a Newtonian.

[JayTee]

I can assure you that any nice new telescope belongs in the living room.

Hi Antennaguy,
I'm assuming that you are not married. Because in my house, as much as I want to display my telescopes, my spouse has the final interior design veto power. I would never win that argument.

If you are married, and your telescope is actually on display in your living room, I doff my hat to your spouse for having excellent interior design taste.

Cheers,
JT

[Larry 1969]

Covered in the garage would be fine. Just remember that it takes a little time for the scope to get to the same temperature as the outside air.
If it's hot in your garage and cool outside, that time will be a good bit longer.

Larry

[taxman0720]

Thanks all for the information. I to am married and I was told in certain terms that the telescope will not be in the living room So the garage, it shall go.

[AntennaGuy]

If you are married, and your telescope is actually on display in your living room, I doff my hat to your spouse for having excellent interior design taste.

Ha ha. Yes, in fact, I am married, and the telescopes reside in the living room!
My wife had a small telescope in her childhood and always loved to use it. I am blessed.

[KathyNS]

My scopes all live out in the unheated observatory. None of them have complained yet.

[Gordon]

I keep all of my equipment in one of these. https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-35-in-W ... /205438528

It keeps the dust off and helps to organize everything. Where I lived before (southern California) I kept my 10" newtonian outside in a roll off observatory. I did have to clear a few spider webs out but for the most part it was just fine.

Dog House Obs sm.jpg (9.74 KiB) Viewed 2987 times

[Shabadoo]

Forgive me? I was thinking Newtonian as well.
My newt OTA sits in the garage on what was my workbench, its original shipping box with hard styro foam performs protecting it.

In the summer, I keep the windows open in there to get rid of the car exhaust that seems to accumulate while pulling in and parking. Seems to keep temps even.
Best regards.

[TCampbell]

The scope can survive in any temps that you can survive. Hot summer days and cold winter nights generally are not a problem.

As the nights cool off, dew may settle on your optical tube and possibly on your corrector plate (the front glass of your scope). Use a towel to wipe off the optical tube and other wet surfaces as you put it away to avoid covering it up with moisture trapped inside. BUT... do NOT wipe down the corrector plate (don't attempt to clean any optical surface).

Cleaning optical surfaces needs to be sparingly and somewhat gently. Mirrors are the biggest pain to clean. Correct plates aren't as fragile but you don't want to damage the coatings (assuming you aren't cleaning it with sandpaper or steel wool, you probably don't need to worry that you will scratch the actual "glass")

A dew-shield ... especially if combined with a dew-heater ... will prevent dew from collecting on the corrector plate and you wont need to worry about it.

When I put my scope away, I usually towel it off before it goes into the case. I might cap it temporarily until I get it inside, but then remove the dust cap to give it chance to dry off naturally.

If you don't see obvious dirt on the optics while standing about 10' away... then it isn't dirty enough to warrant cleaning yet (dust will have almost no effect on the quality of what you see but an extreme amount of dust can start to cause a loss in contrast.) To prove this point, I once stuck a tiny piece of 3M "Post-It" note on the front of the scope ... to prove that while looking through the scope you can't tell it is there. It really does take quite a bit before it becomes a problem and most people do more damage by trying to over-clean.