Cudnik Lunar Meteoroid Impacts and How to Observe Them

1. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4419-0324-2
Verlag: Springer-Verlag
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 240 Seiten

The genesis of modern searches for observable meteoritic phenomena on the Moon is the paper by Lincoln La Paz in Popular Astronomy magazine in 1938. In it he argued that the absence of observed fashes of meteoritic impacts on the Moon might be interpreted to mean that these bodies are destroyed as luminous meteors in an extremely rarefed lunar atmosphere. The paper suggested the possibility of systematic searches for such possible lunar meteors. With these concepts in mind, I was surprised to note a transient moving bright speck on the Moon on July 10, 1941. It appeared to behave very much as a lunar meteor would - except that the poorly estimated duration would lead to a strongly hyperbolic heliocentric velocity. Thus, the idea of systematic searches for both p- sible lunar meteors and meteoritic impact fashes was born. It was appreciated that much time might need to be expended to achieve any positive results. Systematic searches were carried out by others and myself chiefy in the years 1945-1965 and became a regular program at the newly founded Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers, or ALPO.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Cudnik, Brian

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Cudnik_FM.pdf;1
1.1;Foreword;4
1.1.1;Introduction;9
2;Cudnik_Ch01.pdf;14
2.1;Chapter 1;15
2.1.1;Widespread Evidence;15
2.1.1.1;A Brief History of Impacts in the Early Solar System;15
2.1.1.2;The Impact that Built the Moon;18
2.1.1.3;A Brief Look at Some Other Significant Impacts;20
2.1.1.4;Are Impacts Still Happening Today?;27
3;Cudnik_Ch02.pdf;29
3.1;Chapter 2;29
3.1.1;Lunar Impact Features;29
3.1.1.1;Maria vs. Highland Craters;29
3.1.1.2;Young vs. Old Craters;30
3.1.1.3;Appearance vs. Size;33
3.1.1.4;How to Recognize Different Types of Features;36
4;Cudnik_Ch03.pdf;39
4.1;Chapter 3;39
4.1.1;Remarkable Collisions;39
4.1.1.1;Historic Impacts of Interest;39
4.1.1.2;The AD 1178 Lunar Impact Event;40
4.1.1.3;The Taurid Complex Objects;41
4.1.1.4;The “Lunar Flare” Event of 1953;42
5;Cudnik_Ch04.pdf;46
5.1;Chapter 4;46
5.1.1;Possible Impact Phenomena (PIPs);46
5.1.1.1;Probable Appearance and Classification of PIPs;46
5.1.1.2;1955–2008: Additional Events1100–1993: Events Thought to Resemble Impacts of Meteoroids;54
5.1.1.3;Nonshower, Non-ALPO-Coordinated Impact Events;55
5.1.1.4;Random and Earthshine Events:;56
5.1.1.4.1;Events Documented 2000–2004;56
5.1.1.5;Nonshower Reports: 2005–2008 Impact Candidates;59
5.1.1.5.1;A Catalog of Coordinated and/or Shower-Related Events as Documented by ALPO and IOTA;59
5.1.1.6;Description of Event Quality;60
5.1.1.7;The Leonid Meteor Shower: 1999 Apparition;61
5.1.1.8;August 2000: Lunar Perseids;62
5.1.1.9;The Leonid Meteor Storms of 2001;63
5.1.1.10;The Perseid Meteor Shower: 12–14 August 2002;70
5.1.1.11;Observation Data for Kevin Wigell’s Candidate Events;70
5.1.1.12;Perseid Annual Shower, August 2004;72
5.1.1.13;Additional Shower-Related Impact Candidates;74
5.1.1.14;Impact Candidates Observed by the NASA-MSFC;81
6;Cudnik_Ch05.pdf;82
6.1;Chapter 5;82
6.1.1;Beyond the Moon;82
6.1.1.1;Target Jupiter: The Shoemaker-Levy 9 Multiple Impact Event;83
6.1.1.2;Crater Types and Morphologies Throughout the Solar System;85
6.1.1.2.1;Shapes and Features According to Size (Similar Surface Type);85
6.1.1.2.1.1;Mercury vs. the Moon;85
6.1.1.2.2;Phobos and Deimos vs. the Moon;87
6.1.1.2.3;Minor Objects in the Solar System;88
6.1.1.2.4;Shapes and Features According to Surface Type;90
6.1.1.2.4.1;Rocky vs. Icy Surfaces;90
6.1.1.2.5;Ganymede and Callisto;90
6.1.1.2.6;Saturn’s Moons;93
6.1.1.2.7;Uranus’s Moons;97
6.1.1.2.8;The Influence of Impactor Characteristics;100
6.1.1.2.9;Atmosphere vs. No Atmosphere;101
6.1.1.2.10;Mars Craters;101
6.1.1.2.11;Triton;102
6.1.1.2.12;Meteor Showers on Other Worlds;102
6.1.1.3;Other Historic and Probable Impact Sightings on Other Worlds;103
6.1.1.4;Conclusions;106
7;Cudnik_Ch06.pdf;107
7.1;Chapter 6;108
7.1.1;Guide to Observing Impact Features on the Moon;108
7.1.1.1;Maria vs. Highland Cratering;110
7.1.1.2;Young vs. Old Craters;111
7.1.1.2.1;Geologic Law of Superposition and Relative Ages;112
7.1.1.2.2;Crater Counting;112
7.1.1.2.3;Physical Appearance of Features;113
7.1.1.3;Appearance vs. Size;113
7.1.1.4;How to Recognized Different Types of Features;115
7.1.1.5;A “Top 100” List of significant Impact Structures to Observe;118
7.1.1.6;A Link to Astronomical League Observing Clubs Related to the Moon;119
8;Cudnik_Ch07.pdf;120
8.1;Chapter 7;120
8.1.1;Impacts Today;120
8.1.1.1;Lunar Transient Phenomena and Lunar Meteoroid Impacts;120
8.1.1.2;Some Possible Causes of LTP;121
8.1.1.3;Narrowing Down the Causes of LTP to Three: Electrostatic Levitation, Tidal/Thermal Stresses, and Meteoroid Impacts;123
8.1.1.3.1;Impact Mechanics: The Physics of Crater-Making;125
8.1.1.3.1.1;By Eric Douglass;125
8.1.1.3.2;Indirect Evidence for Lunar Meteoritic Impact Events: The Apollo Lunar Seismic Program and the Moon’s Sodium Cloud;127
9;Cudnik_Ch08.pdf;130
9.1;Chapter 8;130
9.1.1;Lunar Impact Observation Programs;130
9.1.1.1;Past Campaigns;130
9.1.1.2;Current Programs;131
9.1.1.3;Space Missions that Impacted/Will Impact the Moon;132
9.1.1.4;Mission Statement of the ALPO Lunar Meteoritic Impact Search Program: A Vision of Lunar Impact Research;134
10;Cudnik_Ch09.pdf;136
10.1;Chapter 9;136
10.1.1;Observing Impacts as They Happen with Contributions by Many Members of the International Occultation Timing Association;136
10.1.1.1;Geometric Considerations and Preparations Needed for Making Observations;137
10.1.1.2;Techniques for Visual Observations;138
10.1.1.3;Techniques for Video Observations;139
10.1.1.3.1;Making the Observations: Focusing the CCD Video Camera;140
10.1.1.3.2;Keeping Accurate Time, Time Insertion, and Recovery;141
10.1.1.4;Twelve Examples of Observer Equipment Setup and Use;142
10.1.1.4.1;Introduction;142
10.1.1.4.2;Making the Observations: One Observer’s Example;147
10.1.1.5;Some Examples of Products and Resources;151
10.1.1.5.1;Introduction and Frame Stacking;151
10.1.1.5.2;CCD Video Camera Testimonials and Comparisons;152
10.1.1.5.3;The Usefulness of Wrätten 87C (Near-IR) Filters and Transmission-Type Diffraction Gratings;154
10.1.1.5.3.1;The Near-IR Filter;154
10.1.1.5.3.2;The Diffraction Grating;155
10.1.1.5.3.3;Frame Grabbers and AstroStack;156
10.1.1.5.4;Analog-to-Digital Conversion Devices (Composed of Information from George Varros and Members of IOTA);157
10.1.1.5.4.1;Canopus ADV-55/110 Video Converter vs. Datavideo DAC-200;157
10.1.1.5.5;Other Analog-to-Digital Conversion Methods;158
10.1.1.5.6;USB vs. IEEE 1394;158
10.1.1.6;Putting it All Together: A Lunar Meteor Observing Plan;159
10.1.1.6.1;By Peter Gural;159
10.1.1.7;Conclusion;161
11;Cudnik_Ch10.pdf;162
11.1;Chapter 10;162
11.1.1;Finding Collisions;162
11.1.1.1;Automated Impact Detection Software;162
11.1.1.2;The Use of Registax for Automated Lunar Meteor Detection;163
11.1.1.2.1;By Roger Venable;163
11.1.1.3;Increasing the Probability of Detection with LunarScan;167
11.1.1.3.1;By Peter Gural and Brian Cudnik;167
11.1.1.3.1.1;An Automated Flash Detection Program;167
11.1.1.3.1.2;A Comprehensive Observation Program with LunarScan;169
11.1.1.3.2;Observation System Configuration;171
11.1.1.3.3;Conclusion-Further Notes on the Methodology for Observing Lunar Meteoroid Impacts;172
12;Cudnik_Ch11.pdf;174
12.1;Chapter 11;174
12.1.1;Spurious Flash or True Impact Event?;174
12.1.1.1;How to Identify True Lunar Meteoritic Impact Events;174
12.1.1.2;GLR Dark Test;174
12.1.1.3;Validation of Lunar Flashes: A Network of Observers for Simultaneous Patrols;177
12.1.1.4;Identification of the Flash Profiles;180
12.1.1.5;Single Observer Validation of Lunar Meteor Impacts;184
12.1.1.6;Conclusion;187
13;Cudnik_Ch12.pdf;189
13.1;Chapter 12;189
13.1.1;Professional and Amateur Collaboration;189
13.1.1.1;Introduction: Pro-Am Collaborations;189
13.1.1.2;Examples of Professional Research in Lunar Meteor Impacts;190
13.1.1.2.1;Introduction;190
13.1.1.2.2;Meteoric Flux Estimates, Luminous Efficiency, Hypervelocity Impact Studies, and the Frequency of Lunar Impact Events;191
13.1.1.2.3;Families of Meteoroids;193
13.1.1.2.4;The Moon’s Sodium Atmosphere;193
13.1.1.2.5;Meteoroid Impacts on Other Worlds;194
13.1.1.3;Advances in Amateur Lunar Meteor Observations;197
13.1.1.3.1;Introduction;197
13.1.1.3.2;New and Innovative Designs: The Tri-Splitter Camera;197
13.1.1.3.3;Remote Control Impacts-Robotic Telescopes: The University of Nottingham Robotic Telescope Project (By Dr. Anthony Cook, Univer;199
13.1.1.3.4;Looking Ahead: Some Closing Thoughts;201
14;Cudnik_BM.pdf;203
14.1;Appendices;204
14.1.1;Appendix A: References;204
14.1.2;Appendix B: Glossary;206
14.1.3;Appendix C: Impact Candidates Observed by ALPO/LMIS Likely to be Cosmic Ray Hits or Other Spurious Phenomena;215
14.1.4;Introduction;215
14.1.5;1999: Lunar Geminid Impact Candidates;215
14.1.6;May 2000: Lunar Eta Aquarid Impact Candidates;216
14.1.7;The Leonid Meteor Storms of 2001;217
14.1.8;The Perseid Meteor Shower: 12–14 August 2002;217
14.1.9;Appendix D: A Simple Method for Timing Videotaped Occultations (and Lunar Meteor Impact Flashes);220
14.1.10;Introduction;220
14.1.11;System Requirements;220
14.1.12;System Setup;220
14.1.12.1;Hook-Up;221
14.1.12.1.1;Video Connection;221
14.1.12.1.2;Audio Connection;221
14.1.12.2;Setup PC for Recording;221
14.1.12.2.1;Windows Mixer Settings;221
14.1.12.2.2;PC Recording Software Settings;222
14.1.13;Timing the Occultation;222
14.1.13.1;Position Videotape for Recording;222
14.1.13.2;Record;222
14.1.13.3;“Mark” the Event;223
14.1.13.4;Calculating the Time for the Occultation Event;223
14.1.14;Conclusion;224
14.1.15;Appendix E: Equipment Checklist and Vendors;225
14.1.16;Appendix F: Details of Shortwave Time Signals for Astronomical Timings;228
14.1.17;Appendix G: Stellar Resources for Comparison and Calibration;231
14.1.18;Finding Limiting Magnitudes for Visual and Video Camera Observation;231
14.1.19;Appendix H: Impact Plots;235
15;Cudnik_Index.pdf;239