It has been decided not to hold the laser brightness test during a (as yet unscheduled) Messier Marathon at SPOC. This decision is mine, for the following reasons: I realized that the test was designed to be conducted indoors, in a controlled environment. Trying to do it outdoors, in an unbounded area, with the general public drifting through, would not only be a possible vision safety hazard (and potential source of liability), but also would not yield usable data. The test was specifically designed to be conducted indoors- the test-stand is designed to hold the lasers horizontally and they do not point at the sky during the test. Also the relationship of the viewers to the test stand should not change during the test- something hard to do unless seated comfortably for 20 to 30 minutes while different lasers are mounted and tested. Without the general public wandering-through the test area, and seated, stationary participants, there are no safety concerns when it's conducted indoors in a controlled area. While it may be possible to modify the test in the future so it can be conducted at SPOC, I have other priorities for my limited free time between now and the end of March. Super-efficient SLAS president Lyon already has committed speakers for the entire 2006 calendar year so it's not likely that the test will happen at a regular meeting for some time if associated with SLAS, my club. Sorry about this folks, it just seems like this little consumer-oriented test wasn't meant to happen anytime soon. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com