green lasers

Ah! cool. I better learn my constelations etc before I buy one then. Thats a neat trick. It drives me crazy when someone sticks their finger up in the air and says, look at that star
Bill.

How would a laser assist in astronomy? Pinpointing stars during alignment of the scope?
Bill.

The one I saw is used soley for showing people constelations and so forth. As the stars are at infinite distance (effectively) so that if you point a laser at aldebaran, a person stading anywhere else that can see the laser will also see it pointing at aldebaran. It is simply ideal for showing people the sky.#

Bart.

Back before pocket lasers could be purchased for the price of a burger, we used to show where the telescope is pointing by shining a halogen flashlight into the focuser tube. The fact that this worked reasonably well proved that observing conditions were never ideal in humid south Florida at sea level. I've even fired an electronic flash through the focuser, but we were unable to see that the light pulse of a 1/500,000 of a second flash is less than 2000 feet long.

Lasers can also be helpful in collimating a scope.

With the dollar so weak at the mo, where can I buy the strongest laser pen possible and for the cheapest price?

Clear skies,

Can you post the laser type and the exact mod they made,
This would be very interesting, and not for downing planes by the way

I would if I could but the guys were not at all keen to discuss the details with me!

Can't imagine why?

Bart.

no probs.

N.J. man charged with aiming laser at aircraft

www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-01-04-laser-aircraft_x.htm

A New Jersey man was charged Tuesday under federal anti-terrorism laws with shining a laser beam at a charter jet flying over his home, temporarily distracting the pilots.

Banach's attorney blasted federal officials for what she called an overreaction. "One would think they would want to devote their time and resources to prosecuting real terrorists, not people like my client," Gina Mendola-Longarzo told the Associated Press.

She said her client was playing with his young daughter, using the laser's narrow green beam to point at stars and illuminating trees and neighbor's houses. FBI agents and police swarmed Banach's Parsnippany, N.J., home Friday night after a green laser was pointed at a police helicopter overhead. The helicopter was carrying a charter jet pilot who was attempting to locate the source of a green laser beam that hit his flight on Dec. 29 as it prepared to land at nearby Teterboro Airport.

After being taken to an FBI office and given a lie-detector test, Banach said he had hit the jet with the beam, court documents say. During questioning by the FBI, Banach showed an agent his laser. After the agent switched it on, Banach warned him "not to shine the laser in his eyes because it could blind him," the court documents say.

After being taken to an FBI office and given a lie-detector test, Banach said he had hit the jet with the beam, court documents say. During questioning by the FBI, Banach showed an agent his laser. After the agent switched it on, Banach warned him "not to shine the laser in his eyes because it could blind him," the court documents say.

I knew they'd catch at least one of these laser-beam terrorist astronomers eventually. Only a matter of time. Pack him off to Guantanamo I say.

:roll: