Red, Green, and/or Blue

[stubeeef]

Move this if not supposed to be in Eye Pieces. I didn't see a general equipment form to go to.

 

>So I need to give gift ideas to wife and kids. Since I'm lucky enough to have too much stuff, there are a few things I still want. Of those are some better LED lighting.

I'm not a snob about lighting, except white/yellow lights. I will join the angry mob to come snuff it out (or you) out too...but Red Green or Blue is the question. 

I'm a retired Navy Pilot (USA) and we had lots of night vision training. BTW want to improve your night vision breath 100% O2 for 15min. 

So if you were next to someone at a star party would their green or blue or red lights bother you? If you had the ability to have a rule, what color would you want to choose everyone use. OR Do you not have a preference others use?

Lastly what do you use and why? THANKS

Red is better for preserving night vision but Green is better at showing detail.

Edited January 31, 2021 by stubeeef

[stubeeef]

Here is a good read on the subject I just found..

 

http://www.astromax.org/activities/members/kniffen.htm

[Louis D]

Red has been the go to star party color for years, and you would be hard pressed to convince the powers that be that any other color would be better.

I just prefer an incredibly dim white light when observing alone because it causes less eye strain.  Under my Bortle 5/6 skies, it's not like it's pitch dark out anyway.

[johninderby]

Or this bit of info. 

https://www.itstactical.com/intellicom/tradecraft/navigating-the-dark-how-to-preserve-your-night-vision/

[Tiny Clanger]

Blue if you are Obi Wan or Skywalker, green for Yoda, red only if you've gone to the dark side .

I seem to have joined the forces of evil .

[Don Pensack]

Deep red is the only color that will not cause damage to one's night vision by "bleaching" the rhodopsin in the rod cells.

At the same intensity, green light is many times more injurious to night vision.

The key is a red LED with very little transmission in the orange or shorter wavelengths.

I installed a #29 red filter in my red LED flashlight to make it redder.

If it's too dim to read your notes, bring it closer to the page.  I use mine about 1" away from the page as I write my notes.  If I can hold it 6" and still read, it's too bright to maintain night vision.

This sums it up nicely:

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/705418-red-light-or-green-light-to-preserve-night-vision/?p=10851252

[johninderby]

This is an interesting read on the subject.

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2003/rogers/998/Rhoeye.htm