Can we talk about the night I tried star hopping with a laser pointer and my neighbor called the cops?

Jason Young · 2026-10-29T03:05:06.487913+00:00

So a few weeks back I read that you can use a green laser pointer to point out constellations to friends, and I figured why not try it from my driveway in Tucson. I got one of those 5mW astronomy pointers, set up my folding chair, and started tracing out Sagittarius for my brother who was visiting. About 10 minutes in, a police car rolls up slow with the spotlight on and asks what I'm doing waving a laser at the sky. Turns out a neighbor two houses down thought I was signaling a plane or something, since we're maybe 4 miles from the airport approach path. I had to explain the whole thing while my brother stood there cracking up, and the officer was actually pretty cool about it once I showed him the pointer and the star chart on my phone. The real kicker is the pointer worked great for showing the Teapot, but I learned to keep it pointed high and away from any aircraft, and honestly a red flashlight and my voice do the job fine for most nights. Anyone else run into trouble pointing out stuff in the sky from their own yard?

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Can we talk about the night I tried star hopping with a laser pointer and my neighbor called the cops? | Backyard Stargazing - nhfree.com