I'd bought Grace a telescope for Christmas, but it was a piece of cheap junk that we could never get focused, so I recently got another one on Ebay and gave it to her on Thursday.
The only place where it could be positioned in a stable enough spot was on the wall surrounding the hot tub. Not surprisingly, we came back later and either the wind or a passing dog had knocked it in. Great. Full of water. Not really good for viewing stars with.
So, begin the quest: how the heck do you dry one of those things out?
Long story short, it took me 2 days, much creativity, and lot of fiddling with intricate bits n'bobs to *finally* get the whole thing dry and useable. Trust me, it was a royal pita to get done.
Various ideas included leaving it carefully positioned with sunlight streaming through, adjusted regularly, so that the rays would have a drying effect. This was somewhat effective but some obvious moisture remained on the inside of the lends. Ultimately, though, laboriously dismantling the whole thing, using various items to hand (tissues, a straightened coat hanger, hair dryer etc.) and finally putting the main tube in the microwave for 20s did the trick.
So, I come out this morning to find the &*$(#*&^ thing floating in the hot tub again......
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