NASA Needs Your Help with LCROSS Impact

Posted 6 Oct 2009 at 19:45 UTC by steve

On Friday, October 9 at 4:30am (11:30 UTC), NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) impactor will hit the Moon, followed four minutes later by the impact of the LCROSS robotic mothership, which will fly through the 10km high debris plume collecting data about the presence of water, minerals, and organic molecules. NASA will have the Hubble, the LRO, and hundreds of big Earth-based telescopes pointed at the event. But the plume should be big enough to be seen and recorded by amateur telescopes 10 inches or larger. NASA is asking everyone who is willing to participate by observing and photographing the event. Visit the LCROSS Citizen Science website to get involved. To find an LCROSS public viewing event (or let others know about one you're hosting), visit the LCROSS public events page. (sadly, there are none in range of Dallas, TX yet). There's also an LCROSS Observation Google Group where you can find out more about how to see the event. If all else, fails, you can watch the impact live on NASA TV.

Update, posted 9 Oct 2009 at 18:36 UTC by steve » (Master)

Turned out to be a bit anticlimactic. There was a flash and a crater but apparently no visible plume.
http://www.nature.com/news/2009/091009/full/news.2009.995.html