Is a green laser pen safe to use?

Only with care: I never point one at people, never into anyone's eyes and never at aircraft. In the UK, targeting aircraft with a laser is an offence under the Laser Misuse (Vehicles) Act 2018.

What laser class should I buy?

I have not measured my pen's output power. GOV.UK guidance says consumer laser products can be Class 1, Class 2 and a subgroup of Class 3R, and warns that some pointers marked Class 2 (under 1 mW) are really Class 3B, so check the class on the label and the listing before you buy.

Why green rather than red?

A green beam shows up better in the night sky than a red one, so people can follow it to the star you mean.

Can it replace a finder?

Yes: it can be mounted on top of a telescope and used instead of a red dot finder.

How much does it cost?

My recorded UK price is £10; check the shop for the current price.

Green laser pen review: pointing out stars to friends

Where does it rank on our leaderboard

Nine of the 46 accessories on my board, against price
Rank	Accessory	Stars for Your Buck	Recorded UK price
1	GEMINI EAF	100 out of 100	£42
2	Generic Dew Heater	93 out of 100	£9
8	Generic Guide Scope 60mm	85 out of 100	£109
14	Rechargeable hand warmers	80 out of 100	£12
19	Green laser pen	76 out of 100	£10
27	ZWO 5x1.25″ Filter Wheel	65 out of 100	£198
39	Celestron 8″ EdgeHD 0.7x Reducer	44 out of 100	£429
45	SKY ROVER 2x54 Binoculars	28 out of 100	£139
46	365 Solar Telescope Cover	5 out of 100	£73

Contents

01 Where does it rank on our leaderboard
02 Specifications and features
03 In use
04 In my words
05 Watch it in my video
06 Should you buy it?
07 Questions and more about this review

In 30 seconds

Stars for Your Buck 76/100

Reviewed 13 Dec 2023 Updated 25 Sep 2026

Rank: #19 of 46 accessories
Verdict: Damon recommends

Written by Damon Scotting 2 min read

Buy it if

You show friends and family the night sky and want them to see exactly which star you mean.
You want a pointer that can also sit on a telescope as a finder.

Skip it if

You observe alone and never need to point anything out.
Children would use it without an adult in charge.

“To put it simply, it's a very helpful tool for when pointing out different stars and constellations to friends and family when talking about the night sky.”

Specifications and features

Green laser pen reviewed #19 of 46
Recorded UK price	£10
Beam colour	Green
Form	Pen with a pocket clip
Laser class	not recorded
Pointer in the buy link	Green laser pointer, USB rechargeable, 301 type

In use

The laser pen

In my hand

At the telescope

Pointing out the sky

Pointing at a star

In my words

“It's actually a very helpful tool as well if you want to mount it on top of your telescope and use that instead of a red dot finder.”

From my nine-accessories video

“The one and most important issue that you need to consider is to not point at other people.”

From my nine-accessories video

“The green laser just shows up better in the night sky as opposed to the red one.”

From my nine-accessories video

Watch it in my video

The 9 COOLEST Accessories for ASTRONOMY! · published 13 December 2023 · 17:00 · Watch on YouTube · 19,597 views, 974 likes on 2 Oct 2026

Jump to

5:39 The green laser pen
5:51 Pointing out stars to other people
5:59 In place of a red dot finder
6:05 Never at people or aircraft
6:29 Why green beats red
6:48 Jupiter, the Orion Nebula and Sirius
7:21 The laser pen close up

Transcript of the video 362 words · 6 chapters · searchable

Press a time stamp to play from there.

5:39 The green laser pen

5:40 Right, so this is the most dangerous of all the accessories that I have, and perhaps the one that people are going to frown upon the most, because not many people are big fans of laser pens in general because of the issues they can cause.

5:51 Pointing out stars to other people

5:51 To put it simply, it's a very helpful tool for when pointing out different stars and constellations to friends and family when talking about the night sky.

5:59 In place of a red dot finder

5:59 It's actually a very helpful tool as well if you want to mount it on top of your telescope and use that instead of a red dot finder. 5:59 Kind of cool.

6:05 Never at people or aircraft

6:05 But the one and most important issue that you need to consider is to not point at other people. 6:10 I mean, just firstly, don't be stupid enough to point into someone else's eye, and then secondly, just don't point at any aircraft. 6:17 I don't get what the motivation behind this is. 6:18 So yeah, just make sure you abide by the DBAD laws, and that is: don't be a d***. 6:24 Yeah, it is only about $10 to $15 to get a laser pen like this, five megawatts.

6:29 Why green beats red

6:29 You are far better off getting a green laser as opposed to a red laser, because the green laser just shows up better in the night sky as opposed to the red one. 6:37 Yeah, it's very helpful if you are actually trying to communicate stargazing to other people and just point out what cool objects you can see, because it's very hard to define what people are looking at by just pointing up, especially due to parallax.

6:48 Jupiter, the Orion Nebula and Sirius

6:48 But if you have a laser: that bright point of light just over there is the gas giant Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. 6:55 And oh, over there's the Orion Nebula. 6:55 Where is it? 6:55 It's in the sword of Orion. 6:55 Not specific enough? 6:55 Let me help you: just there. 7:06 And then towards the lower left you can see the brightest star in our night sky, and I'm not sure if this camera can pick it up, but I'll point to it anyway: that one over there, Sirius. 7:18 Yeah, helpful tool, $10 to $15.

Should you buy it?

76/100 Stars for Your Buck

Pros

Shows people exactly which star or constellation you mean, where a pointing finger cannot.
Green shows up better in the night sky than red.
Can be mounted on a telescope and used in place of a red dot finder.
Pen-sized, with a pocket clip.

Cons

Dangerous if misused: never at people, never into anyone's eyes, never at aircraft.
Many people dislike laser pens because of the harm they can cause.
Cheap pointers can be stronger than their label says, so the class on the box is not a guarantee.

It's very helpful if you are actually trying to communicate stargazing to other people and just point out what cool objects you can see.

Three alternatives I have reviewed

Questions and more about this review

Reviewed by

Damon Scotting

The Telescope Man Verified

BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology, Loughborough University PGCE / QTS, University of Nottingham

About Damon About Damon Damon Scotting is The Telescope Man. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology from Loughborough University and a PGCE with QTS from the University of Nottingham, and taught physics in secondary schools before becoming an astronomy creator. He is a contributing writer for BBC Sky at Night Magazine and the author of 42 Wonders of Our Night Sky, and his photograph of the galaxy M100 with the dwarf planet Ceres was Highly Commended in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 competition run by Royal Observatory Greenwich. He has appeared on the BBC's Blue Peter. More than 750,000 people follow his astronomy channels on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and he has reviewed more than 140 telescopes, mounts, cameras, filters and accessories hands-on for this site. More about Damon · How I test · Damon's book

I review all kinds of gear: most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way. How this site is funded

Five questions, answered

Questions about the Green laser pen

Reviewed 13 December 2023 ·Updated 25 September 2026

I review all kinds of gear. Most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way: no company sees or approves a review before it is published. How this site is funded

Is a green laser pen safe to use? Only with care: I never point one at people, never into anyone's eyes and never at aircraft. In the UK, targeting aircraft with a laser is an offence under the Laser Misuse (Vehicles) Act 2018. Watch it in my video ↓
What laser class should I buy? I have not measured my pen's output power. GOV.UK guidance says consumer laser products can be Class 1, Class 2 and a subgroup of Class 3R, and warns that some pointers marked Class 2 (under 1 mW) are really Class 3B, so check the class on the label and the listing before you buy. The verdict, the readers and the sellers ↓
Why green rather than red? A green beam shows up better in the night sky than a red one, so people can follow it to the star you mean. Watch it in my video ↓
Can it replace a finder? Yes: it can be mounted on top of a telescope and used instead of a red dot finder. Watch it in my video ↓
How much does it cost? My recorded UK price is £10; check the shop for the current price. A record, not a live price The verdict, the readers and the sellers ↓