Some lights do have dimming options, and this is definitely a feature to consider. If your light is too bright, you might need to do something to dim it (such as covering some of the front of the light with tape to block all but a small amount of light). If you’re trying to read a chart, you might need something a little brighter, but still not anything that’s likely to disturb anyone around you. If you’re just switching eyepieces and need to read the markings, you don’t need a huge, bright red light. When it comes down to it, you want to use just enough light to meet your needs at the time. One nice thing about two of the Orion lights I mentioned above is that they do come with brightness controls, allowing you to dim them as needed. At my astronomy club’s dark site, we’ve had to ask a few people in the past to bring a smaller, dimmer red light the next time they come out. A bright red floodlight will still nuke your dark adaptation. Just because the light is red doesn’t mean it won’t degrade your night vision it just has less impact. The next thing to consider is brightness. The only real downside is the off-chance of losing the filter. If you want/need dual-purpose, this may be a good option. The upside here is that when the filter is in place, you’re less likely to accidentally turn on white light. It doesn’t stop me from using it, but it makes it easier to identify when I’m about to hit the wrong button.Īnother option is to get a white flashlight that comes with a red (and/or other colors) filter. I keep a piece of take over the white, just to be safe. I own a dual-purpose light that happens to have separate buttons for red and white. It’s one thing to ruin your own dark-adaptation, it’s another thing altogether to do it to a larger group. If you frequent star parties or observe with groups, this can be a bit of a problem. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that if you do have a dual-purpose light, there’s always a chance you could accidentally turn on the white instead of the red. They also have a RedBeam Mini version that’s small enough to keep in your pocket. Their Red Beam II light is red-only, while their DualBeam LED Flashlight offers both options. Orion, for example, offers a few different options. Having the ability to switch between red and white can be handy, and make the flashlight a multi-purpose tool, not just for astronomy. One of the first things to consider is whether you want a red-only light or a light that’s capable of both red and white (or even multiple colors). So, which one do you choose? Red Only, or Red and White? And, of course, prices vary from the very cheap to the fairly expensive. Several other companies that have little or nothing to do with astronomy also offer them. Several companies that make telescopes and observing equipment, including Orion and Celestron, offer the best red flashlights. If we were to turn on a white flashlight, we could watch hours of dark adaptation disappear in a flash. For this reason, people who spend a lot of time in dark environments prefer to use red lighting when they need just a little light.Īstronomers need them to get around observing area, for setting up and taking down equipment in the dark, for reading our maps and charts, and for finding that eyepiece or filter in our kit that we want to use. So when we use red lights at night, while it will have some effect on our adaptation, it’s minimal. And because of this, less damage is done to our adaptation by the red light. If you turn on your phone while sky-watching, you’re doing just that.īut our eyes are less sensitive to red light. Unfortunately, even a little stray light can completely wipe out that adaptation, putting us back to the beginning. The longer we stay in the dark, the more adapted our eyes get. When we are in the dark, the pupils in our eyes dilate and the photosensitive pigments in the cells of our retinas build up more, making our eyes more sensitive and able to see more and more with less and less light. Without going into the details (because that’s something for a whole different article), red lights are important for astronomy because they are less likely to mess with the dark-adaption of our eyes. But, with that said, we can certainly discuss the features to look for in a red flashlight, as well as some particular models that may or may not meet your needs. This is largely going to be a matter of personal preference. To be honest, this is one of those cases where I don’t think it’s possible to give a single brand or model the honor of being named “the” best astronomical red flashlight.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |