Cheap Pointer.

[peanutcol]

Hi all, saw these and thought what a great idea for showing friends and family exactly what to look at instead of finger pointing and trying to describe whereabouts to look for them to say I can't see what your looking at.  Any good cheap ones knocking around. Loads on Amazon and eBay but just unsure if they're any good.

Cheers for any help.

[fwm891]

Link missing?

[peanutcol]

No link. Just meant seen these in general. Green light pointers.

[Zermelo]

I see you're UK based. Have you looked at any of the other threads on green lasers (including warnings) ?

e.g.

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/374218-laser-pointer

 

[peanutcol]

I hadn't but now have, very interesting stuff. Thanks.

[happy-kat]

Two apps you can point your phone at the sky and shows what looking at, Sky Map and SkyEye perhaps they might help

Edited March 14 by happy-kat

[Louis D]

You have to be very careful with all laser pointers, especially the cheap green ones outputting at 432nm.  They often output way more than the rated 1 mW to 5 mW in green.  Even worse, they often output 100 mW or more in the infrared because the cheap ones omit the IR blocking filter.  You won't even realize your retina is being fried if flashed by one.

They are great for pointing out things in the sky, but you have to be really careful to scan for any aircraft in the area to avoid dazzling and temporarily blinding a pilot.  If that happens, the authorities will definitely hunt you down.

The biggest issue I have with them is that little kids try to jump up and grab it out of your hand because they want to wave it around to pretend it's a light saber.  They pay no attention to what you're pointing to in the sky.  It's a huge distraction for everyone involved.

Now, let's say you're done pointing out things with it.  Now you have to secure it away, so little hands won't grab it when you're not looking.  Can you be 100% certain little hands can't access it?  Some high end laser pointers come with keys to lock and unlock them to secure them properly.  Removing and safely storing the battery or batteries is another option to safe them.

They've been such an issue in Australia that you have to be a trained member of a recognized astronomy club to be allowed to point them to the sky at outreach events.

[Albir phil]

I think best way to use laser pointers is don't! Sooner or later you could have a issue with one.😵‍💫

[peanutcol]

Well, don't think I'll bother now .

[happy-kat]

The mobile apps are easy to aim at the sky and rove around and see what's up there as it's labeled on the screen