What are Starlight Night Vision Scopes?

As history says: " The principle of working the Starlight Night Vision Scope is based on intensifying the light emitted by objects in the starry sky - the sun's side of the moon and the stars (hence the name), on a moonless night the sight is useless." And we, of course, agree with that statement. In that case, what is the difference between the Starlight Night Vision Scope and the Night Vision Scope in general?

Typically, the classic night vision scope switches to infrared mode with the dusk onset. Then infrared illumination is activated and all the related problems appear - noise from snow, rain, insects, etc. Recently a new technology with highly sensitive Starlight sensors is available for night vision scopes, which does not need infrared illumination at all.

In fact, Starlight Night Vision is the latest sensor technology of starlight and sophisticated noise reduction, which provide exceptional sensitivity and clearer night vision. This technology is widely used in night vision scopes, as the most common NVDs.

What are Starlight Night Vision Scopes? 

Night vision scopes use several basic technologies:

·         Low light amplification (includes nighttime Starlight function);

·         Digital night vision (near-infrared vision);

·         Active-pulse, which functions with backlighting in the strobing mode of the photocathode.

Starlight technology is a modified version of classic night vision. This means that light is necessary for the scope to work. Now imagine that there is practically no light around with the needed wavelength. The scope has nothing to reflect, which means there will be no image. What then? Then people thought about the most logical and natural light there is at night - the kind of glow that comes from the stars. And although passive night vision technology, which allows you to see in ambient starlight, has been existing since the 1950s, a practical and high-quality device that meets military and civilian customer requirements has appeared fairly recently.

In fact, the Starlight night vision scope is a NVD with a reticle grid, that goes for mounting on rifle weapons. The Starlight technology is a so-called "passive" mode of operation of the scope. Such night vision scopes do not use third-party illumination; they give the result due to internal processing of light information. Starlight Night Vision Scope has all the advantages of a night riflescope: reticle, bracket, recoil resistance. However, there are more sensitive noise-canceling sensors built-in inside the device.

How It Works

We've already figured out that Starlight technology has actually improved night vision. More sensitive, more accurate, more professional. But it's still based on the night vision device. Therefore, we still take the classic night vision as the basis, with larger sensors, increased aperture, and reduced shutter speed.

The basic components of all Starlight night vision scope consist of a lens, image intensifier tube, phosphor screen, eyepiece, and power supply. Light amplification technologies help a small amount of light energy from stars, turn into electrical energy (electrons). These electrons increase exponentially through electrical and chemical processes. Then they encounter a fluorescent screen, which turns the electrons back into photons, in order to reproduce an accurate image even in total darkness.

This is how the NV Starlight Scope works in so-called passive mode when no additional means of illumination are used. At the same time, the light amplification factor of the Starlight technology can reach 30-50 thousand, from the original. This allows you to see much better on a starry night if you prefer the Starlight night vision scope.

Applications of Starlight Night Vision Scopes

Starlight night vision scopes are used to observe and identify objects and targets only at night. The scopes are widely used for covert surveillance at night and in dark areas.

Categories of application of Starlight night vision scopes:

·         Hunting and tourism;

·         Security of industrial or private objects;

·         Various military sports games;

·         Search and rescue of people;

·         Patrolling certain areas;

·         Military field;

·         Police.

To summarize: they are common in the armed forces, security services, border guards, security installations, and open perimeters. And in hunting, they are used to observe the behavior of animals, tracking animals - at night. They are especially useful for searching for nocturnal animals - wild boar, coyote, bear, etc.

You can find more interesting about night vision here:
Types of Night Vision Devices
New horizons of night vision technology
How can night vision save your life in case of a natural disaster
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