So I've been reading about the problems with internal heat currents in SCT's. I've experienced these problems since I started doing astronomy a long time ago; and I thought I'd investigate the advantages of keeping the tube warm enough so there isn't a large temperature differential in the tube walls vs the air in the tube. The current "standard" is to wrap a layer of Reflectix Insulation around the tube.
This is a shot of the 11" SCT in the early morning light showing the Reflectix. Throughout the night, I noticed that video taken of the lunar surface was less "wavy". It was subtle but noticeable. This should increase the accuracy of the stacking down the road. My next question in terms of the Reflectix is whether I should double-up on the layers. There was a somewhat contentious thread on CN about this stuff and a few people seemed to indicate that a second layer was definitely helpful. In theory this should also help with DSO imaging.
However, as the waviness was somewhat mitigated, I noticed that there was still this high-frequency shuddering of the image. I'm not sure what this is. I assumed it was atmospheric, but it might be in the system. The AP900 mount on the pier will vibrate for 2-3 seconds if you bang the pier or mount. And I've ofted wondered if there is a harmonic frequency that will basically constantly happen in the background. I've thought about cutting a wooden disc and fitting it in the pier bottom, then filling the pier with expanding foam. In theory, this should eliminate any obvious "ringing" harmonics -- or at least make them extremely high frequency and therefore immaterial. Also, I was thinking of getting some sorbothane feet: https://www.amazon.com/Isolate-Sorbothane-Vibration-Isolation-Circular/dp/B019O6HF6C
The challenges never end. :/
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