[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Red light is a conundrum. It is useful under a dark sky, but it use also ignores an individual's ability to make efficient use of it. Its exclusive use assumes everyone's vision is the same. It has its place, for sure, but when it comes to an individual's ability to use it for very specific tasks, it can be very problematic.

I used to have no problem being able to read a chart using red light. However over the years this light had to become brighter and brighter and contrast was becoming increasingly difficult to perceive making reading harder and harder.

It was also reading a couple of articles in S&T and Astronomy magazines about using orange light in addition to red that also opened my eyes to using different wavelengths of light at night. So I experimented with different LEDs that were more orange and dimmer than wouldn't you know it, not only was I able to read & sketch much more easily with greatly improved contrast, the illumination required was much lower and my dark adaptation was preserved, actually improved because I was no longer stunning my vision with a ridiculously bright red light.

I cannot use the "night mode" with Sky Saffari - it is way too bright and totally illegible to me because there is no contrast visible to my eyes, and at its lowest illumination setting it is still too bright and forget contrast. Instead I actually keep Sky Saffari on full colour and its lowest screen illumination. The sky is not red but black and the stars and features I can regulate their individual illumination and over all its brilliance is not only lower, but contrast is better and less detrimental to my dark adaptation than the night mode is. I would prefer not to have to use full colour as I know it is not without consequence to my night vision, but I have no further tools to improve things with Sky Safari.

Red is also disastrous while trying to make your way through the dark in the bush. The problem is green foliage - it looks the same colour under red light as red itself and offers nothing in terms of contrast and safety, not only for obstacles but other hazards too, such as trip hazards.

Red is great for static hazards, but not for reading or moving about in the dark. Thanks to having an ophthalmologist in our Club's membership, my Club has a more flexible lighting policy, one that allows for individuals to use red and orange as they need. If nothing else, it is a safety aspect.

Alex.