Telescope lens smudged. NEED HELP QUICK?

[cmrr962]

well, I was trying to get a new telescope to work( a dobson design,) and I ended up unscrewing the thick lense from its place at the end of the telescope and it fell to the back of the telescope. Once I was able to set all the screws back in, I noticed that the mirror area of the thick lense had big smudges on it. is this bad?? can it be fixed?? PLEASE HELP!

[t. b]

use rubbing alcohol and a soft rag or something soft. not kleenx. and wipe off the smudges

[Michael Steen]

Don't wipe!! Don't rub!! The only safe way to clean the primary mirror is to take it off the back of the telescope, take it out of its mounting, and clean it in a sink with a little bit of mild detergent.
Soak it first, and then GENTLY swab it with pure cotton balls, using no more than the weight of the ball to clean the mirror.
Then rinse it with clear water--preferably distilled if your water is hard--and let it air dry or dry it with a hair dryer. On mine I soaked up the water drops individually with the corner of a Kleenex, but I just touched the drops; I did not rub.