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  #1  
Old November 4th 06, 10:09 PM posted to uk.sci.astronomy,sci.astro.amateur
John Ruddy
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Posts: 5
Default Green Laser Pointer

After having seen a couple in action at some recent star parties, I am
interested in purchasing one of these - they seem ideal for pointing
directly at stars and planets to help people locate objects. However, I
am at a loss as to what I am looking for in one - a quick perusal of
ebay shows models from 5mW up to 100mW. Obviously the more powerful one
is, they brighter the beam, and the further it will travel, but I dont
want to go overboard - they seem to increase in price quite rapidly, as
well as being more dangerous!


Can anyone help advise me on this?
  #2  
Old November 4th 06, 11:42 PM posted to uk.sci.astronomy,sci.astro.amateur
Shawn
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Posts: 125
Default Green Laser Pointer

John Ruddy wrote:
After having seen a couple in action at some recent star parties, I am
interested in purchasing one of these - they seem ideal for pointing
directly at stars and planets to help people locate objects. However, I
am at a loss as to what I am looking for in one - a quick perusal of
ebay shows models from 5mW up to 100mW. Obviously the more powerful one
is, they brighter the beam, and the further it will travel, but I dont
want to go overboard - they seem to increase in price quite rapidly, as
well as being more dangerous!


Can anyone help advise me on this?


5 mW or less lasers have no licensing requirement (in the U.S. anyway).
They work great for showing things to people standing conversationally
close to the user. Good ones can be purchased for less than $100 U.S.
I like mine and find it very useful when observing with small groups.
Make sure you know the GLP policy of any big star party you attend.
There are some militant anti-laser types out there. Just watch where
this thread goes to see what I mean. :-)


Shawn
  #3  
Old November 4th 06, 11:46 PM posted to uk.sci.astronomy,sci.astro.amateur
Dennis Woos
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Posts: 559
Default Green Laser Pointer

"John Ruddy" wrote in message
. uk...
After having seen a couple in action at some recent star parties, I am
interested in purchasing one of these - they seem ideal for pointing
directly at stars and planets to help people locate objects. However, I am
at a loss as to what I am looking for in one - a quick perusal of ebay
shows models from 5mW up to 100mW. Obviously the more powerful one is,
they brighter the beam, and the further it will travel, but I dont want to
go overboard - they seem to increase in price quite rapidly, as well as
being more dangerous!


Can anyone help advise me on this?


You can't go wrong with buying a 5mw green laser from Howie Glatter:

http://www.skypointer.net/

He is a fellow astronomer as well as a manufacturer of laser collimators,
etc., and is a supporter of astro events.

Dennis


  #4  
Old November 5th 06, 12:31 AM posted to uk.sci.astronomy,sci.astro.amateur
Andy Hewitt
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Posts: 49
Default Green Laser Pointer

John Ruddy wrote:

After having seen a couple in action at some recent star parties, I am
interested in purchasing one of these - they seem ideal for pointing
directly at stars and planets to help people locate objects. However, I
am at a loss as to what I am looking for in one - a quick perusal of
ebay shows models from 5mW up to 100mW. Obviously the more powerful one
is, they brighter the beam, and the further it will travel, but I dont
want to go overboard - they seem to increase in price quite rapidly, as
well as being more dangerous!


Can anyone help advise me on this?


I got an 8mW one off eBay for about a tenner. I use it to align my Tal1
(I strapped it to the finder scope). You would think it's going all the
way to the stars (in reality it reached about 1500m).

However, before anyone moans, this one does not switch on, I have to
hold the button down to operate. This is Ok, as I only flash it on for a
few seconds to get a rough alignment. Also be aware that using these
near airports can result in a knock at the door.

--
Andy Hewitt
http://web.mac.com/andrewhewitt1/
  #5  
Old November 5th 06, 04:18 AM posted to uk.sci.astronomy,sci.astro.amateur
Don't Be Evil
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Posts: 109
Default Green Laser Pointer


Dennis Woos wrote:
"John Ruddy" wrote in message
. uk...
After having seen a couple in action at some recent star parties, I am
interested in purchasing one of these - they seem ideal for pointing
directly at stars and planets to help people locate objects. However, I am
at a loss as to what I am looking for in one - a quick perusal of ebay
shows models from 5mW up to 100mW. Obviously the more powerful one is,
they brighter the beam, and the further it will travel, but I dont want to
go overboard - they seem to increase in price quite rapidly, as well as
being more dangerous!


Can anyone help advise me on this?


You can't go wrong with buying a 5mw green laser from Howie Glatter:

http://www.skypointer.net/

He is a fellow astronomer as well as a manufacturer of laser collimators,
etc., and is a supporter of astro events.

Dennis


Howie Glatter may be the king of laser collimators, but he advocates
using a laser pointer as a finder. That's just asking for an aircraft
to encounter your beam.

I'm not a member of the anti-laser horde. But, they need to be used
responsibly. They can easily cause permanent eye damage at close
range, and pointing them at aircraft can be a felony.

I do think they're great when carefully used as intended. I use a
powerful flashlight instead since I always have kids around and also
live 10 miles from a major airport. If you don't, the laser is
certainly better.

Greg

  #6  
Old November 5th 06, 04:53 AM posted to uk.sci.astronomy,sci.astro.amateur
Dennis Woos
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 559
Default Green Laser Pointer

Howie Glatter may be the king of laser collimators, but he advocates
using a laser pointer as a finder. That's just asking for an aircraft
to encounter your beam.


There is nothing wrong with using the pointer as a finder - just don't point
it at low-flying airplanes. I guess it depends on where you observe
vis-a-vis flight path, etc. We don't have our pointer mounted on a scope,
but we do use it as a finder. One of us will locate a target in our mounted
binos, and illuminate it with the handheld laser so that we can find it in
our scopes. The binos (9x63, 20x80, and even 7x50) are much better than any
finder we could mount on the scopes.

Dennis


  #7  
Old November 5th 06, 08:04 AM posted to uk.sci.astronomy,sci.astro.amateur
Uncle Bob[_1_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 92
Default Green Laser Pointer

On Sat, 04 Nov 2006 15:42:14 -0700, Shawn wrote:

There are some militant anti-laser types out there. Just watch where
this thread goes to see what I mean. :-)


Shawn


I just made a bowl of popcorn....let 'er rip!
Uncle Bob
Fairfax, CA

Uncle Bob's bonus joke of the week:
Q: How did the astronomer know his wife had passed away?
A: Sex was just about the same, but the dishes were beginning to pile up.

rim shot

  #8  
Old November 5th 06, 11:20 AM posted to uk.sci.astronomy,sci.astro.amateur
John Ruddy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 5
Default Green Laser Pointer

Don't Be Evil wrote:

Howie Glatter may be the king of laser collimators, but he advocates
using a laser pointer as a finder. That's just asking for an aircraft
to encounter your beam.

I'm not a member of the anti-laser horde. But, they need to be used
responsibly. They can easily cause permanent eye damage at close
range, and pointing them at aircraft can be a felony.


I think it may be here in the UK as well. I live in quite a rural area,
the nearest airport is about 15 miles away, and thats what is classed as
a sub-regional one - few night flights and only a million passengers a
year. It should be fairly easy to avoid troubling the local constabulary!


I do think they're great when carefully used as intended. I use a
powerful flashlight instead since I always have kids around and also
live 10 miles from a major airport. If you don't, the laser is
certainly better.

Greg



Having recently moved here, I've discovered that quite a few neighbours
have admired the starry night, but don't know whats what. I thought
using such a pointer may help to identify objects to intereste passers
by, rather than as a finder. My own telescope is an autostar equipped
Meade, so I dont need a finder as much.
  #9  
Old November 5th 06, 07:42 PM posted to uk.sci.astronomy,sci.astro.amateur
callisto
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6
Default Green Laser Pointer


John Ruddy wrote:
Don't Be Evil wrote:

Howie Glatter may be the king of laser collimators, but he advocates
using a laser pointer as a finder. That's just asking for an aircraft
to encounter your beam.

I'm not a member of the anti-laser horde. But, they need to be used
responsibly. They can easily cause permanent eye damage at close
range, and pointing them at aircraft can be a felony.


I think it may be here in the UK as well. I live in quite a rural area,
the nearest airport is about 15 miles away, and thats what is classed as
a sub-regional one - few night flights and only a million passengers a
year. It should be fairly easy to avoid troubling the local constabulary!


I do think they're great when carefully used as intended. I use a
powerful flashlight instead since I always have kids around and also
live 10 miles from a major airport. If you don't, the laser is
certainly better.

Greg



Having recently moved here, I've discovered that quite a few neighbours
have admired the starry night, but don't know whats what. I thought
using such a pointer may help to identify objects to intereste passers
by, rather than as a finder. My own telescope is an autostar equipped
Meade, so I dont need a finder as much.


  #10  
Old November 5th 06, 07:50 PM posted to uk.sci.astronomy,sci.astro.amateur
callisto
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6
Default Green Laser Pointer


Several comments on Green Laser Pointers:

I use GLPs for small "star parties" of neighbors or just another
person. They are great for pointing out individual stars, no matter
how faint and for outlining constellations. In addition I use GLPs for
finders on my telescopes. I have standard finders but rarely need to
use them.

I think the problems of GLPs ruining the images obtained by
astrophotographers have been greatly exaggerated. I would be
interested in knowing how many of these photographers have actually had
their pictures corrupted by GLPs.

It is true that more and more sky parties, especially the larger ones,
are banning them. Some even kick you out if you turn one on during
nighttime hours. It's a shame that they couldn't set up fields a
short distance from the main observing field for use by people who want
to use GLPs.

Someone mentioned Howie Glatter as a good source for these pointers. I
will back that up - I have three from him. He also makes brackets so
you can mount the GLP on your telescope.

All or most GLPs do not have an on-off switch and you must keep a
constant pressure on the GLP button for it to work. You can get around
this by using a common wooden clothespin or a small rubber "O" ring
that will slide over the button and thus free up your hand.

I have never had any problems with airplanes or helicopters. At night
they all have lights so you can just wait until they leave the section
of the sky you are interested in.

GLPs can definitely harm a person's eye but I think most people are
overly concerned about this. Just use common sense and keep the GLPs
out of the hands of kids. There is an interesting article about the
effects of GLPs from the Mayo Clinic. The researcher doing the study
states, "This is a potential hazard to people's eyes, but rarely is it
going to be a practical hazard because the aversion reflex we have
naturally will cause a person to blink or turn away from a laser
light." The complete press release can be found at
http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2005-rst/2800.html

Although I obviously like GLPs, I have found one negative thing about
them. When you are showing people locations of stars, DSOs etc, I find
that many, especially kids, are more interested in the GLP than in
astronomy

 




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