Laser safety glasses for balcony astronomers

What if you were able to dive into a red-light world 30 minutes before you plan to start stargazing? Here’s how to speed up dark adaptation.

Your eyes have to get used to the darkness before you can start observing. It takes 30 or even 40 minutes for them to fully adjust. Your telescope is set up on your balcony or in the garden, but … the only thing you can see is Polaris. So, do you shut your eyes and meditate for half an hour while you wait?

It always felt like a stupid loss of time – that is until I remembered my time in the Navy. There we put on a type of motorcycle goggles with red glass before we started the night watch on deck. This was because red light is known to not disturb night vision. I wanted to pick up on the idea of the glasses again, but couldn’t find anything until I came across laser safety glasses for red laser light – available by mail order from about €8. The darker the colour, the better. By the way, most models are also suitable for spectacles wearers.

Since then, I put on my laser glasses ahead of time. I can watch the evening thriller through to the end in peace – it may be in monochrome, but so what! They are also useful if you want to take a break, or you have dropped an eyepiece cap into the grass again and need a powerful torch. And finally, how many times did you drive out to a dark site, and then need something from the car but could not prevent the light from coming on? Rescue is at hand: laser glasses.

Author: Jan Willem E. Roberts / License: Oculum Verlag GmbH