Introduction
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.
What you need
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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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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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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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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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Team
Austin Community College, Team 1-6, Meigs Summer 2023 Member of Austin Community College, Team 1-6, Meigs Summer 2023
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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?
