I don't like the principle. Given the range of these things, imagine the mess it would make of the night sky if everyone with a scope in their backyard was using one. And think of all those ruined astrophotos.
I don't like the principle. Given the range of these things, imagine the mess it would make of the night sky if everyone with a scope in their backyard was using one. And think of all those ruined astrophotos.
Not really Steve,
If you are not standing in the close visinity you vurtually can't see it.
You really need to be under it, in line and looking up at it to see the bright line.
Anyone standing affar off will not really notice much.
My neighbours can not see it at all.
And it's not as if you leave it on for long anyway. Basically you just point, line up and switch off and observe.
I got a 5 mW one off ebay a while back for under $100. Great, as long as the moon is not about (I still use a RDF then; and I plan to get a more powerful laser when I can afford it). Good fun to boot. Naturally you've got to be careful if anyone is imaging, but there are a helluva lot of sessions when that isn't the case.
Despite reading about a lot of concerns and potential objections, I haven't found that anyone minds. In fact, I attach mine to my ETX, and the dobbers are grateful to use it to find those hard to get at DSOs. Also, I find that the beam is nearly invisible once you've stepped a few metres away from it. I don't think the neighbours would ever see it, and if you really don't like it all you have to do is move your scope a few feet away from whoever is using it.
The "Leadlight" brand are the only ones to buy, as far as I can see, there are others that are copies of these & are not very effective.
We use one often on our club LX-90 as a finder for the difficult DSO's
I've got one of the 5mW Leadlight ones and love it!!!
Its makes a great tool for showing people where things are and is a super finder, especially when you are working up near "Dob's Hole" (azimuth for you RA-Dec guys).
RocketBoy is correct with how they are observed and used:
You only turn it on long enough to line up 5-10 secs max
The further away you are, the less obvious it is. Someone 100ft away wouldn't ever notice.
I looked to get a bracket for mine, but I found that on my 10", I can just lay it on the OTA, up snug against the focuser, and its within half a degree or so: well within the range of my low power EP's. For my 4.5", I can do the same thing, but against the base of the finder scope mount. Doing that saved me $20-$30 for a mounting bracket and actually works out better in that I can use it as a pointer for other folks more easily.
Two things you have to be careful with:
Aircraft - Just open your eyes and ears and make sure none are around before you turn it on. Takes all of 5 seconds and will save you a trip to the poke.
Ground objects - When that 5mW beam hits a tree, building, bush, etc even a thousand yards away, it puts up a BRIGHT green spot. If that was next to someone that was observing, it would easily wreck their night vision. If you hit them in the eye, obviously it would be worse, but with a 5mW version, their blink reflex will kick in before any permenant damage will occur.
I think they are a great tool, and like any other tool, in the wrong hands they can be very dangerous. But if used properly, they can make observing/teaching much easier and more enjoyable.
Laser Pointers
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