What is a starlight scope?

A starlight scope is a device that uses an image-intensifying tube to amplify ambient light, allowing the user to see images even in near total darkness. These scopes are most often used by the military and law enforcement, but they are legally available to the public in most countries.

In a starlight scope, light enters through a lens made of optical fibers, then strikes a photo-emissive element, which converts light photons into electrons. The electrons feed into a microchannel plate, which can generate as many as 10,000 electrons for every one that hits it. The electrons from the microchannel plate illuminate a phosphor screen at the viewing end of the tube, producing an image.