Tom Symonds flies with police demonstrating a system to catch people who point lasers at planes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7990533.stm
Owww - I was waiting for a Hellfire missile :(
I've made Carole's question and Mike's answer a sticky post in the general astronomy section.
Please feel free to expand the answers there in an informative manner.