My attempt to get a clean shot of the Orion Nebula turned into a 4 hour fight with dew

I drove out to the dark sky site near Flagstaff last Friday, perfect clear night. Got my camera and scope all set up, started a 3 minute exposure, and everything looked great. Then after about 30 minutes, I noticed the stars were getting fuzzy. My lens was completely fogged over with dew. I tried using a hair dryer from my car, but it just came back in 10 minutes. I didn't have a proper dew heater, so I spent the next few hours trying to rig up hand warmers with rubber bands, wiping the lens every few shots, and basically ruining my imaging run. I got maybe 20 minutes of usable data out of a planned 4 hour session. Has anyone found a cheap, reliable dew heater setup that actually works for a small refractor?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_oliver1mo ago

What did you end up doing with the 20 minutes of data? I used to just wipe my lens too, but after a night like that I finally bought a cheap strap heater from Amazon.

oscarcraig1mo ago

That foggy night convinced me to buy one too.