I had to respond to myself because what I wrote above is wrong/incomplete.

I got up this morning thinking "that's not right, what were you thinking?"; I completely left out Rhodopsin when it comes to the color Red. Red won't bleach out Rhodopsin and it's Rhodopsin that allows the rods to function. Pupil dilation has to do with allowing max light in, but Red is associated with allowing Rhodopsin and the rods to continue functioning while giving you the use of one set of cones, the red ones. Green, blue, yellow all bleach out Rhodopsin. I've heard that yellow/orange won't bleach it out as quickly and allow a low level of Rhodopsin to persist, but I haven't seen that. It's either dark enough for Rhodopsin to be present or it's not. Red however, is the exception. That's why I choose Red for a light to use at night when I want/need to be completely dark adjusted. It akes time, but it's worth it.

The article by Doug Kniffen conspicuously leaves out any mention of Rhodopsin. IMO, that article strictly pertains to reading charts while star gazing and not to maximizing natural night vision.