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Using Lasers To Shut Down Street Lights And Get Better Space Photos

Feb 20, 2015 by Udi Tirosh 37 Comments

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One of the biggest obstacles of taking good astronomical photos is light pollution, this is why almost every tip article on night photos has a tip about getting away from the city. But what if you want to take photos in your driveway? In that case, street lights will most probably kill each and every one of your photos.

Astronaut Don Pettit (previously) has a neat little trick he uses to shut down that annoying street light he has just outside his driveway. He points a laser at the street light sensor which tricks the street light into thinking that it is still day outside and preserve energy by shutting down.

Don actually has a rig set up so all he has to do is turn the laser on to temporarily kill the street light, then he can take his photos and stop the laser to bring the light back on. Of course, this little trick may have the neighbors call the Ghost Busters to see if the poll outside their house is possessed.

Last tip from Don: don’t use a green laser, the day/night sensor is more sensitive to light in the red side of the spectrum so only red lasers work.

[Smarter Every Day And Space via reddit]

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Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: Astrophotography, don pettit, lasers, night photography, night sky photography, Smarter Every Day, street lights

About Udi Tirosh

Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

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