My neighbor told me I was blocking his view of Saturn with my phone light

I was out there last Tuesday trying to get a shot of Saturn through my little Dobsonian, and I had my phone screen cranked up to read the SkySafari app. My neighbor Dave from two houses over walks across his lawn and goes, "Hey, you're ruining my night vision, turn that thing off." I felt dumb but he showed me how to use some red tape over a cheap headlamp instead. Now I can actually see the stars without blinding everyone within 50 feet. Has anyone else had a neighbor call them out for something obvious like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

betty_white392mo ago

Laughing my ass off because I totally did the same thing but with a camping lantern once. Had it propped up on the hood of my car so I could see my star chart, and some old guy from across the street yelled "You gonna cook the stars with that thing?" Felt like an idiot but he was right. Now I use a piece of red gift wrap over a cheap flashlight, works like a charm and doesn't make me look like I'm signaling UFOs. Saturn's a good target though, hope you got the shot eventually.

hernandez.morgan2mo ago

Betty's gift wrap trick is genius and way cheaper than the actual red astronomy lenses they sell online, isn't it @betty_white39?

evan2951mo agoTop Commenter

Stick a piece of red gift wrap over a regular flashlight and suddenly you can see the stars without wrecking your night vision, which is basically the same trick my buddy @betty_white39 figured out with a lantern back when we were all just winging it. It's funny how the simplest household stuff ends up being more useful than the fancy gear people spend a fortune on for the same result. The real pattern here is that half the time, the best solutions are just common sense repurposed from something already lying around the house.