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Can we talk about my red flashlight ruining every star session for a month?
So I've been stargazing from my backyard in Sacramento for about two years and I thought I had my light setup figured out. Last month I picked up a cheap red headlamp online, and I was so proud of myself for being "dark sky friendly" that I used it every single night. Then my neighbor Tom, who has a way nicer scope than mine, walked over while I was out and asked why I was holding my star chart six inches from my face and squinting. Turns out my red light was one of those bright LED types that says red on the box but still blows out your night vision, and I had been re-dark adapting for 20 minutes after every chart check without even knowing it. That night I could suddenly see way more faint stars once I shut the thing off and just used a dim red keychain light at arm's length. Now I'm wondering if I've been doing this wrong the whole time and maybe my eyes are worse than I think. Has anyone found a cheap red light that actually stays dim enough, or is this just a trial and error thing until you find the right one?
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