Being new to astronomy, this morning was my first experience with huge amounts of moisture on my equipment once I brought everything inside from the outdoors (temperature around 30 degrees with loads of frost outside).
It's easy enough to wipe off the optical tube case, mount, tripod, etc. with a paper towel, but what does everyone do about lenses and eyepieces? Although they didn't frost up outside when viewing this morning, when I brought all my equipment inside my house, the opticals all fogged up. I know just leaving the moisture on them can't be good for the opticals, but I don't want to scratch or damage the EPs, etc. either. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Also, on another storage issue, at the present time, I leave my Skyview Pro 120 EQ refractor set up inside my house and when I want to view from my backyard, I first take the tripod and mount outside, then take out the optical tube and assemble the scope. I was giving some thought as to leaving the tripod and EQ mount outside permanently and keeping the tube only in my home when not viewing. I was thinking about keeping it stored in one of those large Rubbermaid sheds that you see at Wal-Mart and Home Depot. I though perhaps placing a large black "Hefty" bag over it, while stored inside the plastic shed would protect it from moisture and dirt. This would certainly make setup a lot easier for me. Does anyone have any thoughts as to this idea for storage? Being outside in Pennsylvania during the winter, it would be exposed to cold temperatures, but I would think moisture wouldn't be much of a problem is covered up (maybe with a blanket, then a plastic bag) while stored in the Rubbermaid shed. I use the scope any night we have clear here in Pennsylvania.
Thanks for all your suggestions.
It's easy enough to wipe off the optical tube case, mount, tripod, etc. with a paper towel, but what does everyone do about lenses and eyepieces? Although they didn't frost up outside when viewing this morning, when I brought all my equipment inside my house, the opticals all fogged up. I know just leaving the moisture on them can't be good for the opticals, but I don't want to scratch or damage the EPs, etc. either. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Also, on another storage issue, at the present time, I leave my Skyview Pro 120 EQ refractor set up inside my house and when I want to view from my backyard, I first take the tripod and mount outside, then take out the optical tube and assemble the scope. I was giving some thought as to leaving the tripod and EQ mount outside permanently and keeping the tube only in my home when not viewing. I was thinking about keeping it stored in one of those large Rubbermaid sheds that you see at Wal-Mart and Home Depot. I though perhaps placing a large black "Hefty" bag over it, while stored inside the plastic shed would protect it from moisture and dirt. This would certainly make setup a lot easier for me. Does anyone have any thoughts as to this idea for storage? Being outside in Pennsylvania during the winter, it would be exposed to cold temperatures, but I would think moisture wouldn't be much of a problem is covered up (maybe with a blanket, then a plastic bag) while stored in the Rubbermaid shed. I use the scope any night we have clear here in Pennsylvania.
Thanks for all your suggestions.
