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Hmmm, thanks. I notice inside my rather large shed / garage all the metal surfaces (e.g. weight set, tools on my tool rack wall) always appears far less dew covered (i.e. read zero apparent dew) than my scope sitting outside just 5 feet away. The roller door to this garage (dimensions 5 * 4 * 3 metres) is nearly always open so why do two areas only feet away from each other have such vast apparent difference in humidity condensing on metal? Is it the roof and walls? Is it the construction materials of the shed (painted timber and tiled roof)? Is it slightly warmer in my shed than just outside it? What is causing the differential?
From my limited physics I would assume air cools down after sunset slower at ground level due to retained heat from the ground, so you have a layer of moist air 3 - 10 metres above ground waiting for the ground air to cool over an hour or two after sun set. When this occurs does the moisture mostly simply fall like a very fine rain of mist - meaning a shed roof will protect gear under it, or does it mostly condense out of thin air, particularly on any exposed surface with a temperature differential that allows moisture droplets to easily form - meaning a shed will have a large surface area that acts like a lightning rod for moisture - it sucks the moisture out before it reaches the metal gear inside?
It's got me intrigued!
Will enclosing my scope significantly affect how much dew can form on my scope and if so does a large working area around my scope better protect it from dew than just a modest area? In other words would a 2 metre dome be more / less / or no different than a 3 or 5 metre enclosure sheerly from a dew protection standpoint (ignoring operating convienencearound the scope for a moment)?
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