Hi Jay, Do you know Steve Dodds (SLAS member and owner of Nova Optical)? Since you both live in the same are and since he's a professional optician you might want to check with him before doing anything. I've always heard it's best to leave dust on a mirror unless it's really bad because you can do more harm by cleaning. But in your case where it's fire residue that may not be the case. Best to check with a pro like Steve. You can find his contact info on the SLAS roster. Good luck, patrick p.s. Regarding the comments here asking about Steve the other day, I saw Steve a couple of days ago and learned he and his place are fine. On 24 Sep 2010, at 18:21, Jay Eads wrote:
Ok, I had 2 scopes at home when the fire hit last Sunday. The 14 was in its case, the 10 was not and the 20 Obsession is in its observatory down south so it is just fine (was going to pick it up this weekend but I think I'll wait for another week). I just checked the 10 and it looks like a layer of dust got through the cover and the plastic shower cap I keep on both ends. I'll look at the 14 later this evening as I pull it out for some observing of Jupiter. Is it okay to clean a mirror normally that has been exposed like this to the fine particles from a fire or should I leave it alone and just continue to view? I'm not an avid fan of cleaning mirrors all the time, but I think in this case it might be warranted, but the fine particles in the ash I am perhaps more leery of than the normal wear, dirt and dust that accumulates. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com