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Re: (meteorobs) detecting impacts
At 20:22 12/02/00 -0600, you wrote:
I haven't seen much
discussion regarding lunar impacts so I couldn't speculate on what
equipment might work. Logically though, more sensitivity in the infrared
couldnt hurt. The documented Leonid impacts were the first in my
experience. It certainly seemed a novel idea whose time had come.
Back in the 60's there was interest in detecting LTP's (Lunar Transient
Phenomena) - this was an attempt to detect infrared outgassing events on
the Moon triggered by volcanic activity. The results were highly
ambiguous and not much credence given to it especially after the Apollo
missions established that the moon was quite dormant with respect to
having active molten core that could cause such an event.
Statistically, impact events by smaller meteors will of course be more
numerous than more massive, energetic impacts. It was for this reason
that I invited discussion by those who could apply quantitative values to
the energies and their detectability threshholds by equipment available
to amateurs.
Would objects on the order of 1 mm be detectable? Would the radiant
energy be released several cms. below the surface and remain
undetectable?
Almost certainly not ,I would have thought .......a large part of the
explosive force of the impact takes the path of least resistance and
therefore would be redirected and ejected away from the lunar
surface.
Where might
the threshhold be and what percent of the energy would be in the infrared
and what % in the visible part of the spectrum?
Impact frequency and detectability might suggest using a more powerful
instrument observing a smaller section of terrain.
Tom
References: