If you see a green laser beam shooting across the water near Baltimore on Tuesday night, don't panic — it's just a test being run by the military.
Navy scientists will be test firing a long-range laser that will span 13 miles across the Chesapeake Bay late Tuesday, according to a story by the Baltimore Sun. Navy officials have not commented on what the laser's purpose is, though they did say that it will be safe to the human eye.
The Navy also said that the laser will be turned off if a plane or boat comes too close, according to the Sun's story.
"The eye-safe green laser will be transmitted across the Chesapeake Bay to evaluate the performance of a laser system at long range over water," Steven Van Der Werff, spokesman for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, told the Sun.
The beam will travel 13 miles from a naval research facility on Tilghman Island to the Chesapeake Bay Detachment in Calvert County. The detachment specializes in radar research, electronic warfare and communications, according to its website.
The Navy announced earlier this year that it will be testing a 150-kilowatt laser weapon at some point in 2017, but Der Werff told the Sun that this is a different type of laser. The Defense Department has been emphasizing guided-energy weaponry studies for the past several years. "It’s not a hope. This is what we are doing. I view it as vitally important for the future," said Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. James Syring in August.
Tuesday's test is expected to conclude at 10:45 p.m.
