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If you are the owner of a Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ telescope or a Newtonian-type telescope with an internally housed primary mirror, this guide is for you. If your telescope's primary mirror (biggest mirror) seems to be noticeably dirty, then giving your mirror a proper clean might be just what you need to get back to looking at the stars.
As simple as cleaning a mirror sounds, it's a delicate process that involves protecting the mirror from breaks and smudges in order to restore to optimal performance. Operating in a clean air environment using rubber gloves will ensure your success with this fix. Before cleaning, look to see if the primary mirror is cracked in which case a replacement mirror is needed all together.
Here's a direct link to Celestron describing some telescope maintenance.
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Dispense an arbitrary amount of alcohol into a bowl.
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Take a pipette and submerge its narrow end into the alcohol, then squeeze and release the bulb end with your fingers to extract alcohol.
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Firmly squeeze and release the bulb end so the pipette fills to the 1 milliliter mark.
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Transfer and dispense the pipette's alcohol into a separate bowl.
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Extract 24 milliliters of alcohol into a separate bowl.
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Pour an arbitrary amount of distilled water into a bowl.
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Extract 6 milliliters of distilled water and transfer them into the same bowl with the 24 milliliters of alcohol.
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Stir the alcohol-distilled water solution with the pipette.
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Transfer the solution from the bowl to the spray bottle via pipette.
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Screw on the spray bottle cap.
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Locate the back of your telescope and notice the 3 pairs of screws with one screw sticking further out than the other in each pair.
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Remove the three 19.1 mm lower resting screws from your telescope using a Phillips #1 screwdriver.
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Carefully pull back the loose panel exposing the primary mirror and set it aside.
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Lay the back panel flat on a table with the mirror facing upwards and grab a camel hair brush.
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To remove dust particles, lightly brush the mirror's surface starting in the center and pulling out towards the edge of the mirror.
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Perform center to edge strokes 360 degrees around the mirror.
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To remove tougher build up, take the spray solution and disperse 4-5 sprays onto a tissue paper.
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Applying minimal pressure, mimic the same strokes as the brush by pulling the moist side of the tissue from the center to the edge of the mirror.
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Perform these strokes 360 degrees around the mirror.
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If build up still remains, repeat the motions above with more pressure but just enough to remove the build up.
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Remove any remaining dust particles that accumulated since the tissue by using the brush to stroke the mirror as before.
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To reassemble your device, follow instruction 4 in reverse order. Line up and screw all the screws into their screw holes so the bottoms of the screw heads lay flush with the back panel of your telescope.
To reassemble your device, follow instruction 4 in reverse order. Line up and screw all the screws into their screw holes so the bottoms of the screw heads lay flush with the back panel of your telescope.
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Austin Community College, Team 1-6, Meigs Summer 2023 crwdns2935289:0Austin Community College, Team 1-6, Meigs Summer 2023crwdne2935289:0
AUSTINCC-MEIGS-SU23S1G6
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@ethan_powell awesome guide! Just purchased a telescope to get ready for retirement :-) Quick question. I am with the understanding to stay away from 70% isopropyl alcohol because of it contains 30% of impurities, which could lead to streaks. I was told to use at least 90% or higher, and to dilute isopropyl alcohol over 96% with distilled water, to prevent early evaporation. What is your thought on this?
