[Laser] How much power? Ideed!

[Chuck Hast]

On 6/7/07, Chuck Hast <wchast at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 6/7/07, Art <KY1K at verizon.net> wrote:
> > You wouldn't see a laser based on the Moon. Although the laser is
> > collimated, the few (at best) photons that arrived on Earth would be
> > masked by the Moon's reflectivity of the sun (light that bounces off
> > the Moon and makes it's way to Earth).
> >
> > The only hope of seeing a laser on the Moon (from the Earth) would
> > happen only if the laser was located on the dark side of the
> > terminator. In such a case, the field of view would have to be very
> > narrow, about the same as the divergence of the laser transmitter, or
> > around 2 to 5 milliradians. It would be just as difficult to aim
> > receiver as it would be to aim the laser. When you consider that both
> > the Moon and the Earth move relative to each other, both ends would
> > need to be actively tracking each other.
> >
> > I think receiving a laser based on the Moon would be difficult and a
> > 2 way QSO between the Moon and the Earth would ne next to impossible
> > for amateurs.
> >
> > Receiving an Earth based laser from the Moon would be even worse, the
> > Earth is a much better reflector than the Moon is, so the background
> > ambient light level would be much worse.
> >
> >
> I am not going to say it is impossible, but it would be very very 'entertaining'
> to say the least, there is another piece that most moon bounce people from
> the amateur radio world are familiar with and that is libation which
> is the smaller
> motions of the two planets (moon and earth) if you have ever done moon bounce
> you know what it is, and it causes fading of the RF signal, which with a laser
> would probably mean you would need both ends to track each other.
>
>
Sorry, that should be LIBRATION....
-- 
Chuck Hast  -- KP4DJT --
To paraphrase my flight instructor;
"the only dumb question is the one you DID NOT ask resulting in my going
out and having to identify your bits and pieces in the midst of torn
and twisted metal."