Cleaning a mirror

I borrowed an Odyssey 1 (16", I think) telescope from my school. I
started looking at some stars and Mars and noticed that the telescope
seemed badly out of collimation (it was collimated before leaving school, I
figured the transport changed that). Well, collimation still seemed ok,
but I found that the mirror is extremely dirty.

Is there a good way to clean the mirror? Can I just pop the back
open, take the mirror out, and clean it with a water/isopropyl alcohol mix,
or is this something I shouldn't mess with?
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Cleaning a mirror
    ... >> seemed badly out of collimation (it was collimated before leaving ... but I found that the mirror is extremely dirty. ... The Odyssey uses push pull bolts for collimation. ... Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_ ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Re: Cleaning a mirror
    ... > I borrowed an Odyssey 1 telescope from my school. ... Well, collimation still seemed ok, ... The Odyssey I is a 13.1" scope (the next size up, ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Re: Cleaning a mirror
    ... > seemed badly out of collimation (it was collimated before leaving ... > school, I figured the transport changed that). ... but I found that the mirror is extremely dirty. ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Re: 4 inch reflector cant resolve Mars at all
    ... How many times have you tried to observe each planet? ... If you own fewer than five eyepieces, ... What's the focal length of your telescope? ... Did you check the scope's collimation prior to *each* observing ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Re: Selecting a telescope
    ... There is an old school that grew up without the aid of computers to move your telescope, and had to learn the art of finding objects with just the aid of a chart and a finder, and are of the opinion that if it's good enough for them it's good enough for you. ... And then there are some that see it as an aid, and IF you can learn to find objects just using a finder and moving the scope yourself, then why not use a GOTO to make your life easier while you learn? ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
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