NASA Request - Is this for real?

[tomato]

Apparently NASA are trying to find out how many visual astronomers are looking up through telescopes world wide at any one time. 

They are going to mount some powerful lasers on satellites and aim them towards the earth through the atmosphere and  are worried that they may accidentally damage an observer's eye sight.

It sounds like a wind up to me, is it for real?

[DHEB]

Do you have a link to press release/info?

[SteveNickolls]

Sounds like, 'Day of the Triffids'. :-)

Cheers,
Steve

[ronin]

Really need a link, but if people thought that NASA were going to fire high power lasers down to the surface a large number would go outside to look up and try to see them.

Was a question over on CN about NASA and astronomers about 3 or 4 months back, may have been the same. No idea, just recall it being talked about.

[DaveS]

There was a thread here I think but I can't find it.

[Ouroboros]

Here is a link to this survey with more info. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSclyyQRipQ_14LPSUsaJz51SpYIwzE5p3yftkXzWkwx8oDnnw/viewform?c=0&w=1

[darknight]

is this really a nasa survey, cant see nasa in the link?

[Ouroboros]

6 minutes ago, darknight said:

is this really a nasa survey, cant see nasa in the link?

I got it from a forum post on the BAA site https://www.britastro.org/node/9364

[Stub Mandrel]

It's genuine, there was another thread about this.

[Dave Lloyd]

High powered lasers?, surely telescopes are superfluous.

[Davey-T]

We'll have all the no win no fee lawyers ringing up saying " I believe you were involved in a nasty blinding accident recently sir " 

Dave

[Uplooker]

It's not that they are going to start that you should be worried about, it's the fact that they already are shining lasers at us.

I have already filled in the NASA survey and it made me laugh as it has a warning at the end saying "Don't look directly at a laser!" ?

[Davey-T]

I did see a short very bright flash in Hercules the other night while looking for comets, perhaps I should get an eye test 

Dave

[Yearofthegoat]

...and a lawyer!

[Dave In Vermont]

Here's a link to the 'survey' from NASA (maybe):

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSclyyQRipQ_14LPSUsaJz51SpYIwzE5p3yftkXzWkwx8oDnnw/viewform?c=0&w=1

I'm not sold - yet. Questions? Just how and when will all these 'high-powered lasers' get into Earth-orbit? Or are they already in orbit?

Getting more curious here,

Dave

[DeepSkyBagger]

They're already there. They're used for lidar observations of the surface of the Earth and the oceans. As I understand it, the lasers would only cause any issues when directly overhead, i.e. at the zenith. Now for those of us with dobsonian mounted telescopes, the zenith is more or less a no-go area already.

This topic has already been covered in another thread 

This is real.

 

[Dave In Vermont]

3 hours ago, DeepSkyBagger said:

They're already there. They're used for lidar observations of the surface of the Earth and the oceans. As I understand it, the lasers would only cause any issues when directly overhead, i.e. at the zenith. Now for those of us with dobsonian mounted telescopes, the zenith is more or less a no-go area already.

This topic has already been covered in another thread 

This is real.

 

Thank you!

It's now looking 'real' from my perch over here, too. It's reminding me of a physicist who lived down the way from me. He was approached by the US Military and asked about the possibility of putting a giant magnifying-lens into orbit: Would it work? Could it be moved about easily? Things like this. When he asked what they were thinking of using this for - he was told: "Power generation!"

He did his best to convince them it wouldn't work for various reasons they couldn't possibly understand, and thereby believe.

Inside, he was cringing. Visons of kids with magnifying-glasses frying insects on the sidewalk on sunny days of his youth.....

Dave

 

 

[Ouroboros]

This survey looks amateurish to me. It is not well written.  I would expect something more professional of an official survey from NASA.  

As I understand it these missions are already underway. I would expect that NASA would have carried out risk assessments at the very early stages of these missions, and that  approval to fly would (should) depend on the risks of injury being negligible.  The idea that a survey like this is required to inform the official risk assessment process after the missions are already underway is absurd to say the least. On the other hand if this is the situation, NASA need to be told to stop firing lasers at the ground until the risks are shown to be acceptable.  

 

[tomato]

Thanks for the replies, I heard about this request third hand and I thought the good people on SGL would be able to confirm if it was genuine or not, looks like it is.