Telescope Air Currents

by Floyd Glick

What difference does using a simple fan make when it is directed to blow its air across the face of a mirror? See for yourself.

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When the fan is turned on and directed 90 deg. perpendicular to the optical path, the airstream clears the turbulence in front of the mirror and the lights suddenly straighten out! This is amazing to see in real time. Using this method adapted to a telescope OTA could raise the quality of the telescopes imaging capabilities.

This method has been known since the 1930’s to improve the performance of any reflector telescope. Why isn’t it used more often?