Rant: I stopped stacking my telescope flat after 15 years of doing it wrong

Back in 2019 I kept my 8-inch Dob in the shed lying on its side, then one humid week in Austin the secondary mirror dewed up every single night, so now I stand it upright and tilt the tube down, and honestly has anyone else found that the old 'lay it flat' advice just doesn't hold up in damp climates?

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baker.ben2d ago

That humid week in Austin is the key detail here, honestly. The old advice about laying a scope flat was meant for places where dew is a occasional annoyance, not a nightly attack. In humid climates, the tube becomes a condensation trap when it's horizontal, and the secondary mirror gets hit first because it's exposed and small. I've started pointing mine slightly nose-down and leaving the cap off the focuser, which lets air actually move through instead of just sitting there and soaking. Takes a few minutes to relearn the habit, but the mirror stays dry.