<p>It depends on national, state/provincial/territorial, regional, or local jurisdiction. Not knowing where you live (though from your name, I would guess Eastern Europe), I would stay on the safe side and say <strong>no</strong>, you may <strong>not</strong> use a laser pointer at night.</p>
<hr />
<p>For example, in Canada, it is a <strong>criminal offense</strong> to even merely <em><strong>possess</strong></em> a laser pointer of more than 1 mW (most laser pointers are 5 mW) outside a dwelling in urban areas and within 10 km of airports, and generally even elsewhere — there could be fines of \$1,000 up to \$100,000 (for individuals) and up to 5 years in prison. See <a href="https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/aviation-security/use-hand-held-lasers-legally-safely" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Transport Canada’s website</a> for details.</p>
<p>However, members of the <a href="https://www.rasc.ca" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Royal Astronomical Society of Canada</a>
or <a href="https://www.faaq.org" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Québec’s Federation of Amateur Astronomers</a> may apply for a temporary or permanent permit. I have thus <em>legally</em> pointed a <strong>50 mW</strong> laser pointer (about 10 times more powerful than the regular pointer) towards the sky at night with no problem, as I was covered by a permit. There are conditions for obtaining such a permit, and it may be revoked if the person using the laser does not follow certain rules.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-06T18:27:41.117Z
It's the same for New Zealand, as far as I know. I had to become a member of the RASNZ (I'm an astronomer, so I was going to anyway) and the President sent me a letter that I can whip out on my phone if the police swing by my observing site.
Jim421616
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-06T06:26:54.333Z
2023-09-06T06:26:54.333Z
Pierre Paquette
<p>This is poor dark sky etiquette.  Even when you're &quot;by yourself&quot;, the laser is visible from a long way away (miles away sometimes).  And you can't possibly know who's doing what in the entire visible area.  What makes it even worse is you'll be using it to point at popular targets other people will be using telescopes to look at, increasing the visible range even further.</p>
<p>They are also generally unnecessary, because if you know where an object is well enough to point a laser at it, you can point a telescope at it.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-06T16:30:08.483Z
I do concur with what you say, yet I'm not sure this answers the question - but then, and as already commented above, I'm not convinced of what *is* the actual question here... why would I use a laser pointer to guide *myself*?!
planetmaker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-06T23:43:29.920Z
reminds me of [Trumpeting while backpacking?](https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/27319/12619) :-)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-06T16:00:45.743Z
2023-09-06T16:00:45.743Z
Greg Miller
<p>Can I use a laser spotter as a guidance to a star in the sky?
That's if you're by yourself. Here is an example of a spotter on a tripod 10 feet any from my camera!</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/DeWnj.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/DeWnj.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a>laser pointer</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-06T06:24:37.963Z
I don't get the question. To me it looks like "can I do what I show you here in the photo and what I do regularly"
planetmaker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-06T06:27:54.440Z
@planetmaker: That is indeed the question. However, the question is not merely “can I do it?” as in “is it possible?” but more like “can I *legally* do it?”
Pierre Paquette
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-06T10:54:26.733Z
I don't unerstand why the visible trace stops at the star or planet.
stretch
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-06T15:21:36.557Z
@stretch it doesn't. It only appears to do so. Visibility is limited by all of: the density of the atmosphere, the atmosphere's aerosol content which scatters the light better than air, the width of the laser beam, and the distance of the point towards your eye, and of course the laser intensity itself.
planetmaker
<star>
Laser pointers spotter
RJ Przybylo
# Laser pointers spotter

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-09-06)

Can I use a laser spotter as a guidance to a star in the sky?
That's if you're by yourself. Here is an example of a spotter on a tripod 10 feet any from my camera!

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/DeWnj.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/DeWnj.jpg)laser pointer

**Tags:** star

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I don't get the question. To me it looks like "can I do what I show you here in the photo and what I do regularly"  
> **username_2**: @username_1: That is indeed the question. However, the question is not merely “can I do it?” as in “is it possible?” but more like “can I *legally* do it?”  
> **username_3**: I don't unerstand why the visible trace stops at the star or planet.  
> **username_1**: @username_3 it doesn't. It only appears to do so. Visibility is limited by all of: the density of the atmosphere, the atmosphere's aerosol content which scatters the light better than air, the width of the laser beam, and the distance of the point towards your eye, and of course the laser intensity itself.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2023-09-06. Score: 2

It depends on national, state/provincial/territorial, regional, or local jurisdiction. Not knowing where you live (though from your name, I would guess Eastern Europe), I would stay on the safe side and say **no**, you may **not** use a laser pointer at night.

---

For example, in Canada, it is a **criminal offense** to even merely ***possess*** a laser pointer of more than 1 mW (most laser pointers are 5 mW) outside a dwelling in urban areas and within 10 km of airports, and generally even elsewhere — there could be fines of \$1,000 up to \$100,000 (for individuals) and up to 5 years in prison. See [Transport Canada’s website](https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/aviation-security/use-hand-held-lasers-legally-safely) for details.

However, members of the [Royal Astronomical Society of Canada](https://www.rasc.ca)
or [Québec’s Federation of Amateur Astronomers](https://www.faaq.org) may apply for a temporary or permanent permit. I have thus *legally* pointed a **50 mW** laser pointer (about 10 times more powerful than the regular pointer) towards the sky at night with no problem, as I was covered by a permit. There are conditions for obtaining such a permit, and it may be revoked if the person using the laser does not follow certain rules.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: It's the same for New Zealand, as far as I know. I had to become a member of the RASNZ (I'm an astronomer, so I was going to anyway) and the President sent me a letter that I can whip out on my phone if the police swing by my observing site.  

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### Answer by username_5 on 2023-09-06. Score: 2

This is poor dark sky etiquette. Even when you're "by yourself", the laser is visible from a long way away (miles away sometimes). And you can't possibly know who's doing what in the entire visible area. What makes it even worse is you'll be using it to point at popular targets other people will be using telescopes to look at, increasing the visible range even further.

They are also generally unnecessary, because if you know where an object is well enough to point a laser at it, you can point a telescope at it.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I do concur with what you say, yet I'm not sure this answers the question - but then, and as already commented above, I'm not convinced of what *is* the actual question here... why would I use a laser pointer to guide *myself*?!  
> **username_6**: reminds me of [Trumpeting while backpacking?](https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/27319/12619) :-)  

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