The title says it all. Moisture is not an Astronomer’s friend. At ECVAR I was very diligent to cover my tripod and scope when not in use, especially if rain was in the forecast. I thought I was doing all I needed to do to protect my equipment.
After a rain, I uncovered my setup and found there was condensation on my telescope, tripod, and other equipment. Then I learned a valuable lesson from Michael Carnes who was set up next to me. I was protected from moisture from above and from the sides … but not from below. Water vapor was coming up through the ground underneath my covered telescope! When everything had dried out around my telescope, it was still damp beneath my tripod, which showed exactly how the moisture had managed to get on my equipment. It came up through the ground and stayed trapped inside my telescope covers!
Michael put rubber mat material under his tripod, and his equipment stayed dry. This is why they put vapor barriers beneath houses. He gave me some of his rubber mat material which I put beneath my tripod, and I was no longer bothered by moisture under my telescope coverings. I now use this technique at home whenever I plan to leave my telescope set up and covered outside.
Thanks Michael!
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