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Old 16-04-2013, 05:04 PM
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Rick Petrie
Rickapoodyandafandoogally

Rick Petrie is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Mardi NSW, Australia
Posts: 1,123
Quote:
Originally Posted by Draco View Post
I just re-read the specs for the GSO 10" Dobson from Andrews. It says that it comes with a fan for the primary mirror. Does this mean I have to always run the fan to cool the inside of the tube? (which means I have to get a battery pack when I buy the Dob else I wont be able to use it?)

Hi Niv
The purpose of having a fan on a Newtonian/Dobsonian telescope is to cool or bring the mirror to ambient temperature and this will much improve the viewing through the scope. It helps to eliminate the disturbed air caused by the mirror temperature not matching the air around it. (like heat shimmer coming off a road on a hot day)
You can view with no fan attached, but much better views will be obtained with the fan on all the time while viewing as the temperature of the mirror will adjust to closely match the outside air temperature.
Well worth spending a little for batteries to power the fan.
Cheers Rick
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