Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Aug 17, 2006 21:00:18 GMT -6
SMART-1 impact: last call for ground based observations
If you are a professional or amateur astronomer and want to contribute to the final phase of the SMART-1 mission, join ESA on the impact ground observation campaign.
Impacting on 3 Sept at 07:41 CEST, SMART-1 will touch the Moon at the lunar coordinates 36.44º South and 46.25º West. If impacting on 3 September at 02:36 CEST the lunar coordinates will be 36.4º South and 43.5º West.
The Lake of Excellence is very interesting from the scientific point of view – it is a volcanic plain area surrounded by highlands, but also characterised by ground mineral heterogeneities.
“We call for ground-based observations mostly to study impact physics, the release of spacecraft volatiles, and the lofted soil mineralogy,” says Bernard Foing , SMART-1 Project Scientist at ESA. “We look for fast imaging of the impact and of the associated ejected material, and for spectroscopic analysis, for example to find hints about the mineralogy of the impact area.”
“Even if the impact at 2 kilometres per second is of modest energy, the plume might be observable if it reaches sunlight, with an amateur telescope
ESA invites the scientific community and amateur astronomersfollow this link:
sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=98
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My scope is too small to catch the impact, but I would like to hear about those of you who can view it.