(meteorobs) OT: SMART-1 lunar crash landing Sunday morning September 3

[Peter Brunone]

   So does anyone think we'll be able to see the resulting dust cloud?  According to the reports, impact is slated for Lacus Excellentiae at 06:41 GMT.  With the relevant phasing from http://imagiware.com/astro/moon.cgi and the excellent maps at http://www.lunarrepublic.com/atlas/sections/g2.shtml , it looks like it'll hit right on the edge of the lit side, just to the left of Tycho.

   Given that this thing will hit at about 2km/s (approximately 1/30 the speed of a Leonid), do we have any hope of seeing anything with, say, an eight-inch reflector?

Hoping the rain forecast won't make this moot,

Peter