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Old 03-11-2009, 06:59 AM
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AlexN
Widefield wuss

AlexN is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Caboolture, Australia
Posts: 6,923
I don't know if I'd use Isopropyl on optics... I definitely think its great for cleaning camera sensors, but I would be wary of touching mirrors or APO telescope lenses with it... tiny dust spots on a telescope lens will go unnoticed in both visual and photographic use, and by cleaning it all you are doing is risking the optical integrity of the telescope... most of the dust motes you see in images will be dust or specs of something on the sensor or on the filters, and its usually fairly easy to tell which is which based on the intensity of the mote in a flat frame. With your QHY8, its easy enough to open the camera up, clean the sensor and the optical window then seal it back up, and I think thats worth doing (I used to do mine once a month)

On the Astro-Physics website, Roland has a bit of an article covering his thoughts on cleaning refractor lenses.. Summarized, he basically says that until you notice it visually, do not touch it. and once you do notice it, get it professionally cleaned by someone who knows what they are doing..
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