NASA selects Cabeus A as lunar impact site for LCROSS

William Atkins
Saturday, 12 September 2009 18:54

Science - Space

Dr. Andrews states, "The selection of Cabeus A was a result of a vigorous debate within the lunar science community. We reviewed the latest data from Earth-based observatories and our fellow lunar missions Kaguya, Chandrayaan-1, and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The team is looking forward to wealth of information this unique mission will produce."

The NASA article states, “The LCROSS team selected Cabeus A based on a set of conditions that includes favorable illumination of the debris plume for visibility from Earth, where astronomers will be watching closely. Cabeus A also has a high concentration of hydrogen (a constituent of water, H2O) and favorable terrain such as a flat floor, gentle slopes and the absence of large boulders.”

Besides being observed by LCROSS, the upper-stage rocket impact will also be observed by several ground-based observatories here on Earth.

These locations include several sites in the United States, such as the Infrared Telescope Facility and Keck telescope in Hawaii; the Magdalena Ridge and Apache Ridge Observatories in New Mexico, and the MMT Observatory in Arizona.

They will also observed the crash of LCROSS into Cabeus A.

Space-based spacecraft observing the events include the newly refurbished Hubble Space Telescope, along with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which was launched with LCROSS.

Dr. Andrews concludes by saying, "We're looking forward to October 9th. The next 28 days will undoubtedly be very exciting."

NASA also informed amateur astronomers that they can observe the impacts, too. The U.S. space agency suggests looking at the following website: Observing the LCROSS Impacts.