Light for astronomy?

I'm going to be out for a class for a few sessions for an astronomy class and I was wondering what would be a good low level that wont **** everyone off around me.
Thanks!

suggest a red led penlight, that won't mess up yours or others night vision. no need to spend a lot of money. try google on "Gerber 22-80062", as an example. One of the heads and works great.

Rigel Systems Starlite, Skylite or Moonlite. Depending on your preferred color flavor or combination.

ZebraLight H501R, designed for astronomical map and data readings.

For white light, you need around 0.1 lumens or lower. The Photon ReX goes low enough for astronomical chart reading:

http://www.photonlight.com/Photon-ReX-Keychain-LED-Flashlights-p/rex-lithium-ion-rechargeable.htm

Likewise the Surefire T1A and HDS-related lights (Ra Clicky, HDS, Novatac).

Sounds like a job for the Proton Pro. Both red and white available at low levels.

Geoff

GarageBoy said:

I'm going to be out for a class for a few sessions for an astronomy class and I was wondering what would be a good low level that wont **** everyone off around me.
Thanks!

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I am an active member of a local astronomy group that has one of the best equipped amateur observatories in the UK. As a result, we get to see a lot of people in a lot of situations, both in class environment (we have our own courses, and work with the local university) as well as public openin evenings etc. I can honestly tell you that the most common and useful light source during a class is.... the moon!

No, really. At an astronomy class you will usually find that the moon provides enough light to look at a lot of the sky charts, which should be inverted (black dots on white). If you're in a dome, then there will be red-lights on the walls and possibly on the console if there is one.

Red lights only, and head lamps are banned in classes unless they have a good diffuser on the front. The simple reason for this is we get far too many people turning their head and the intense red spot on their forhead kills the night vision of the person next to them for a good 15 minutes, even though the actual reflected light is of very low intensity. Head lamps are fine if you're using a dome by yourself or with one or two others, but in group scenarios they are just annoying.

By far the best light we've seen was one somebody made using 3 red 5mm LEDs and a couple of AA batteries in a clip that went on the top of the clipboard, angling the light down onto the page. I've not seen anything similar commercially - if anyone knows of anything I'd like to know.

I would check with whoever is doing your class before you buy anything, as restrictions vary considerably between groups (some don't have any and it's down to the lecturer to decide, in which case contact them if you can).

. . . head lamps are banned in classes unless they have a good diffuser on the front. The simple reason for this is we get far too many people turning their head and the intense red spot on their forhead kills the night vision of the person next to them for a good 15 minutes, even though the actual reflected light is of very low intensity. Head lamps are fine if you're using a dome by yourself or with one or two others, but in group scenarios they are just annoying.

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Too right - it seems that the moment someone gets a headlamp on their head, they can't resist turning round and blasting you in the face. Most of the time I'm sure they don't even realise that they are doing it, but no amount of explanation seems to be able to get them to stop. With you on an outright ban.

At the moment, the setup that I find most useful is a D20 with a Surefire F05 red filter on the front. It covers just the right range: goes really low for reading charts and stuff, and the brightest setting is good enough for finding your way down a path or something.

I bought a ZebraLight H501R for this purpose. It has several useful brightness levels; at lowest mode it's great for astronomy and at the highest mode you shine up a good area around you.

Regards, Patric

My SF KROMA is excellent for Astronomy. Two levels of Red with the low-red being quite low and the low white also very low.

It is one of my favorites, especially in the observatory that our Scout camp has for the scouts.

I saw some guys using red rope light, and they had it wrapped on the tripod.

Quark RGB, Photon Freedom, Rigel, Petzl E+Lite.

RedLed said:

I saw some guys using red rope light, and they had it wrapped on the tripod.

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Not seen that before! I have seen somebody using a red LED stuck to a hearing aid with blue-tack though....

Covert-tip red Photon Freedom?

Streamlight stylus w/ red led.