be careful out there....

Can you spell dictionary Peter? :lol:

The notion that you need a laser to shine a light on an object in the night sky is as fraudalent as saying that an outrageously expensive 3 inch apo can give you the same view as a dirt cheap 6 inch reflector.

Fools and their money are soon parted.

Astronomy is full of fools.

Actually they are fantastic learning tools. I've seen them used brilliantly for public out-reach. Most of us don't need them, but that doesn't mean no one does or that anyone who does is a fool.

Bart.

The problem is the disregard some people show when using them (as Declan showed in his first post here). That good old phrase of there's always one applies here. On the plus side, it is a specialised implement, and not very accessible, nor wanted, by all (unlike hammers, every household has one!)

Seanie.

Saying that Seanie my boys came downstairs one night some months back saying there's someone outside shining a light into their bedroom, it's upstairs, when I went upstairs I could see this green dot moving around the ceiling, looking outside there were three lads and one of them had a laser. By the time I went downstairs they had gone, so while I agree they are not as accessible as hammers, they are becoming more widely available, you can buy one from the States for less than €30, no questions asked.

Then your experience, and others like it, should mean some sort of a screening be put in place for those who want to buy it from abroad. Why kids want one is beyond belief. I mean, I remember when I worked in the cinema way back and I kicked out kids who used those red dot lasers, flicking them across the cinema screen. Apart from that sort of thing, why else would an errant teenager want one?

Seanie.

Ya see....ya see... I told ya, they can be misused. My original post was placed to provoke a debate (a light debate)

As a federation, maybe we could give a brief guideline on the safe use of these useful tools. thier very nature means that someone can use them from afar can cause mayhem. Yes, it's written on the laser and Yes, people of average intellegence should be able to use them responsibly ....but there is (as Seanie says) always one....G@bs@it out there :wink:

Declan