What do you do when you bring a dewey scope inside?

[OneOfOne]

Hi guys,

I had the scope out last night for a couple of hours, and of course, when I brought it back inside to put it into it's box, it was a little damp. Usually I leave the caps of fthe finder and tube to allow it to dry. Maybe leave the caps off the lenses as well.

What does everyone else do? I looked at the mirror, and it didn't seem to have any frost on it so leaving the cap off is probably not necessary. If it was a refractor or SCT I expect you would definitely leave it to dry.

[asimov]

I've been using the hair dryer to speed up the drying process. On low heat & standing back fairly well. I don't want to heat anything up, just burn the dew off the optics quicker.

[sheeny]

I just open everything up and let it evaporate naturally.

Al.

[janoskiss]

I always let it dry before capping. I run the fan till it's dry. Have a read of this S&T article, esp the last bit about storage: http://skyandtelescope.com/howto/scopes/article_150_1.asp

[OneOfOne]

I have printed the article and read it tonight when the clouds come in...

I thought I should check what is the "right thing" before I lash out in June/July and get a couple of Pentax's!:D

[janoskiss]

My gawd! The Pentax bug is becoming an epidemic! :eyepop:

[Blue Skies]

I just leave it open in the room for as long as it takes all the condensation to evaporate, which can be quite a while. Of course I don't leave the scope pointing up so all the dust can settle on it while it's drying...

[leon]

I do agree with all the other people who have suggested options to you,

But why would you pack it back into it's box, just use it, leave it set up, and then throw a cloth over it, it will be fine.

;)