How to tell if lenses aren't aligned?

Hey guys, i'm new to the whole laser ordeal and i just recently got Laser Glow's 532nm 5mW "Lyra". So far im having fun with it but i feel like the dot is 'diffused' more than it should be, and unfortunately (being new to this) i can't tell what "normal" is. Is there anyway for someone like me to know? Below im attaching a picture of it from approximately 5 feet away shining on a white surface. Forgive me for poor quality. If necessary i can whip out something better than my phone's camera and take a more 'professional' picture.

Any and all advice is appreciated, thanks in advanced! :yh:


also i'd say it looks slightly more dim in real life than in this picture

Do you have safety glasses or something very dark you can look through?

I ask because you can look through them to remove the splash from around the dot and actually see if the dot is, well, a dot. I find that even with modest powered greens, shining on anything remotely bright causes blooming that just looks like a big blob of green light.

It would also help to shine on something dark that sucks up light, like velvet or a black rug. If the "dot" becomes the size of a dinner plate from across a hallway you've got problems.

It looks like its dirty to me, my Altair was like that until I dusted it. Just be careful not to scratch it. It's also possible that it is mode hopping which you can check as described above, I usually just shine it on a wall a few meters away, and check if the sit is round or mis-shaped.

UPDATE:

It ended up the lense was just dirty/dusty. I took a microfiber cloth to it and its as beautiful as ever