[Laser] How much power? Ideed!

[Charles Pooley]

James Whitfield <n5gui at cox.net> wrote:
   
  James Whitfield <n5gui at cox.net> wrote:
  ...
  Interestingly, a light source on the Moon would in some ways be 
easier to see. There is less air if you look up than if you look at hilltop 
less than five and a quarter miles away. The best viewing of the Moon 
takes place after the Sun goes down, so there is less "noise". If there 
were a Moon Base or just a rover up there with the equivalent of a 
laser pointer, 5 mW and 1.5 mR beamwidth, it could send a spot down that 
would be 360 miles across. How much of a telescope would you need to see 
that?
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 For the Microlaunchers initiative I am considering just that and similar.  See:    microlaunchers(dot)com , then go to the initial spacecraft design page, 
  then the Laser Link article for a plan for a 2 arcsecond beam for a 30 mw 650 nm laser, 
  and the basic estimates for using a Geiger mode APD.
   
      Charles Pooley         KD6HKU