|
I'm a bit like Gazz, don't care whether their legal or not and won't be signing the petition.
But there's another issue that doesn't seem to have got a lot of airing in this debate, on any of the forums I have seen. And that is the future of their use in astronomy.
The use of lasers in public outreach programs is a wonderful thing, where they are the ultimate tool for pointing out the 'treasures' of the night sky.
Everywhere else they are a blight on amateur astronomy IMO. This is because they are so intrusive. They may be easy and very effective substitutes for finder scopes, red dot finders etc, but they intrude on people's enjoyment of the night sky - visual telescopic observing, astrophotography, or just sitting back and drinking in the universe. I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking this.
One laser finder at a meet may be tolerable, but just imagine if everyone used one. And it's not just at meets. Try explaining to your neighbour why he can't have his back-porch light on while it's OK for you to put on a laser light display!
We congratulate ourselves on being the guardians of the dark night sky and decry light pollution, but with the increasing use of lasers we set a bad example in the eyes of the public - turn off all the lights folks, but it's perfectly alright for us to pierce the sky with multi-megawatt beams.
So legality or not, if they continue to proliferate, clubs and star party organisers at least may be forced to introduce codes of conduct.
Cheers -
|