Prospector Impact Bulletin Board

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This area is intended to provide a free forum in which people may discuss the impact event. This space will remain available before, during and after the event. The discussion is not refereed and the managers of this web site do not intend to partake in the discussion. We are unable to answer every question at this time.

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On Sat Jul 24 21:15:43 1999 , Victor Austin (victor@cfdlab.ae.utexas.edu) wrote:

Welcome to the Lunar Prospector impact discussion area.

On Sun Jul 25 07:55:21 1999 , Alexei Berezhnoi (ber@sai.msu.su) wrote:

Detection of Volatiles in Lunar Cold Traps A.A. Berezhnoi Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Moscow, Russia The LP impact can be useful to search for volatiles that may be found in cold traps [1]. Now we consider a probable chemical composition of lunar polar regolith. There are some sources of volatiles on the Moon: comet impacts, micrometeoritic bombardment, solar wind and degassing from lunar interior. Let us examine the collision of a comet with the Moon. We assume that a small part of the cometary matter remains in the lunar gravitational field (~ 1-10%) [2]. As the hot cloud expands, quenching occurs: The chemical composition of the impact vapor stops changing, and corresponds to the equilibrium composition at the moment of quenching. The chemical composition of impact vapor forming the temporary lunar atmosphere depends from the elemental composition of hot cloud, the quenching temperature and pressure.

On Sun Jul 25 07:56:51 1999 , Alexei Berezhnoi (ber@sai.msu.su) wrote:

We shall assume that the elemental composition of a comet is identical to that of Halley's comet [3]. We compare a time scale of chemical processes and hydrodynamic time scale. From this estimations the quenching parameters are 1000-2000 K and 100-1000 bars. The main compounds of the impact produced atmosphere are: H2 (~ 40%), CO (~ 30%), H2O (~ 20%), CO2 (~ 5 %), N2 (~ 3 %), S2 (~ 3%), SO (~ 1%), SO2 (~ 1%). We note that sulfur-containing compounds will enter the composition of the impact-produced atmosphere, since at the stage of the explosion of the comet the reaction binding sulfur in the form of iron sulfide is kinetically inhibited. The condensable gases of the impact-produced atmosphere (S2, H2O, SO2, CO2) essentially all fall into cold traps [2]. The composition of "cometary" ice is determined by the composition of the condensable compounds of the impact-produced atmosphere: The relative concentrations of volatiles in the temporary atmosphere are essentially the same as in the cold traps.

On Sun Jul 25 07:57:54 1999 , Alexei Berezhnoi (ber@sai.msu.su) wrote:

We note that the CO2 and SO2 content in the soil is very sensitive to soil temperature, so that the concentrations of these compounds can decrease appreciably over the lifetime of the traps. Ices of cometary origin can be distinguished by analysing the chemical composition of the ice. In the meteoritic impacts, sulfur and sulfur-containing compounds enter the lunar exosphere. Cold traps capture only sulfur; sulfur-containing compounds are not captured because of the short photolysis time [4]. The current IDP flux at the Moon is roughly 2*10^9 g/year [5]. If we assume that IDP contain 2% sulfur, 5% of this sulfur is captured by cold traps and the area of sulfur-containing lunar polar regions is about 500000 sq. km then the content of sulfur in cold traps is about 1 g/cm^2. The solar wind, however, is an inefficient source of sulfur [6]. So, we offer a following chemical composition of polar lunar regolith: minerals, hydrated minerals, water ice, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur.

On Sun Jul 25 08:01:45 1999 , Alexei Berezhnoi (ber@sai.msu.su) wrote:

During the collision between Lunar Prospector and the Moon SO2, CO2 are most likely detectable from vibrational bands in the IR, while the SO molecules are probably best detected by observing a fluorescence bands. In summary, the falling of comets onto the Moon leads to formation of ice with definite chemical composition in cold traps. The comet hypothesis of the origin of lunar ice can be checked due to the LP-Moon collision, and if confirmed, then definite progress will have been made in understanding the composition and, accordingly, the nature of comets. References: 1. Goldstein D.B. et al., Geophys. Res. Letters, V. 26, No. 12, 1999 2. Berezhnoi A.A., Klumov B.A., JETP Letters,V. 68, No. 2, p. 163-167, 1998 3. Delsemme A.H., Royal Soc. Philos. Transact., Ser. A, V. 325, No. 1587, p. 509-523, 1988 4. Huebner W.F. et al., Astroph. Space Sc., V. 195, No. 1, p. 1-294, 1992 5. Love S.G., Brownlee D.E., Science, V. 262, No. 5113, p. 550-553, 1993 6. Shafer C.M. et al., Adv. Sp. Res., V. 13, N

On Sun Jul 25 09:30:07 1999 , walter morse (mcalla71@maine.edu) wrote:

A question: will this impact be visible from northern New England to an individual with binoculars?

On Mon Jul 26 08:05:50 1999 , ricky j roberson (rickyjames@email.com) wrote:

This is a very exciting experiment and all of you at UT who have made this happen are to be commended. I am very interested in following this "live" on the 31st and I have two questions regarding this. Have you arranged for CNN coverage? How about setting up a live chat room where the ones with the equipment to observe are color coded and have priority to issue their comments in real time? Good luck!

On Mon Jul 26 08:22:27 1999 , Ferdinand Uyking (kingtech@weblinq.com) wrote:

What are these Volatiles ? How important was it to our dialy lives? Can these be one gateway to learn the properties that might be possible kept from other planets ?

On Mon Jul 26 14:07:43 1999 , Matthew Willis (matt@oats.com) wrote:

From the NASA Space Science News Page; "During the upcoming eclipse, Prospector will pass in and out of regions of partial and total Earth/moon shadows for nearly 3 continuous hours as it orbits the moon. Components of the spacecraft will experience temperatures beyond their normal operating range as the battery runs down to dangerously low levels and is unable to operate electric heaters. There is a possibility that key subsystems required to operate the spacecraft may be damaged and control of the spacecraft could be lost." Is it possible to "turn up the heat" before the Prospector passes into the shadow and extend the life of the unit by extending the temperature buffer?

On Mon Jul 26 17:32:15 1999 , Matthew Sparks (makaalasparks@hotmail.com) wrote:

Is there a website with an image of the moon as it will appear that night and an arrow saying "impact here!"?

On Tue Jul 27 02:57:37 1999 , Larry Hatch (larryhat@jps.net) wrote:

I understand that a plume of dust and other materials should be visible on Earth based telescopes. Which parts of the Earth will have the best views? How powerful of a telescope would one need to get at least a glimpse of this? - Larry Hatch

On Tue Jul 27 04:37:27 1999 , Craig Robinson (reacycraig97@dedset.net.au) wrote:

When the Lunar Prospector impacts the Moon will prove that there is water on the Moon to support a human colony, that the US Congress stops the "Cutbacks" of NASA's "Budget" and funds to put Humans "BACK TO THE MOON AND BACK TO STAY" .

On Tue Jul 27 09:10:13 1999 , Steve Roper (mystikan@hotmail.com) wrote:

Does anyone remember a TV show from the 1970's called Space-1999? Part of the premise of the show was that an explosion took place on the moon and it was blasted out of orbit, taking the people of Moonbase Alpha with it! Obviously the tiny Lunar Explorer isn't going to have this kind of impact, but reading about this experiment and the inopportune date made me think of the show... Just one more instance of sci-fi being prophetic, maybe? :)

On Tue Jul 27 12:15:21 1999 , Bill Pohnan (bpohnan@email.msn.com) wrote:

Are there materials, such as propellant, on board the spacecraft that may mask or alter any potential water signature? What steps will be taken to prevent this from occuring if there are such materials?

On Tue Jul 27 19:10:18 1999 , Foa Xeng (FoaXeng@rockcrab.com) wrote:

Why is H2O mostly/only near the poles?

On Tue Jul 27 22:17:36 1999 , Myrton (n1gke@amsat.org) wrote:

Thank you for the awesome access to a very exciting event. I am looking forward and hope all have clear viewing. I have minimal equipment but will be ready.

On Tue Jul 27 22:49:26 1999 , Rob Coutts (r_coutts@netcom.ca) wrote:

Weather permitting, I will be all set to do my best to detect the plume through my telescope. I hope a lot of Amateur Astronomers are aware of this event and take the opportunity to observe!

On Tue Jul 27 23:43:35 1999 , robbo-42 (robbo-42@rocketmail.com) wrote:

Sounds like very interesting end to a very rewarding mission. I teach science and we are planning to do a Moonlink unit with the prospector's data. The kids should be pretty surprised about how the mission comes to a close.

On Wed Jul 28 01:57:03 1999 , Hitoshi Mizutani (mizutani@planeta.sci.isas.ac.jp) wrote:

When and where will it be impacted on the Moon?

On Wed Jul 28 08:47:19 1999 , J.F. Pelletier (jeff@imm.aps.anl.gov) wrote:

Is it really worth dumping all that junk and debris on the moon for not even a 10% estimated chance of detecting anything at all??? After all, this is not the ultimate junk yard.

On Wed Jul 28 10:45:42 1999 , steve marshall (smarshall@unc.edu) wrote:

What a stupid idea. I am bitterly disappointed at the decision to smash space junk into the moon. We have already trashed many beautiful wilderness areas of the earth, such as Antartica and Mt Everest. Why do we have to begin doing the same to the moon? I thoughy space exploration was about investigating the solar system, not defacing it.

On Wed Jul 28 11:14:34 1999 , Michael Stoliker (stolikmc@enter.net) wrote:

To those of you asking why water is mostly found at the Moon's poles, and when and where the spacecraft will impact, that information and much more can be found by investigating the rest of this amazing web site! To those of you carping about crashing the spacecraft into the moon, the spacecraft was going to crash into the moon anyway once the mission was over and its orbit had decayed enough. By chosing to deliberately cause a controlled (more or less) impact, the Lunar Prospector team has created an opportunity to garner one last piece of information from our closest neighbor. Even if there is only a 10% chance of successfully gaining that information, it's still a 10% chance we wouldn't have otherwise had! If you want to complain about junk on the Moon, then why don't you suggest that we initiate a mission to go to the Moon and recover all those Lunar Rovers and scientific instruments left behind by previous missions? I'll buy into it! One last thing, could you guys at the Lunar Prospector web site ple

On Wed Jul 28 11:17:31 1999 , Michael Stoliker (stolikmc@enter.net) wrote:

Oops, I got cut off. Could you please convert some more of those Apollo Mission RealVideo(tm) clips for us low bandwidth modem users?

On Wed Jul 28 12:42:29 1999 , Gary Carleton (rgcarle@erols.com) wrote:

I sure hope that the Prospector does not have dormant microorganisms on it from Earth - since you are now sending it to reside in a water environment.

On Wed Jul 28 13:40:44 1999 , L. M. Neelis (LNeelis@aol.com) wrote:

EUGENE SHOEMAKER 1928-1997 on the moon July 31, 1999 - lets not forget him !!!

On Wed Jul 28 14:51:31 1999 , The Bad Astronomer (badastro@badastronomy.com) wrote:

I have some info about the impact at my own website: http://www.badastronomy.com/bitesize/lp_crash.html. It has links to other sites as well.

On Wed Jul 28 18:30:17 1999 , dave hansen (dave@thehansens.com) wrote:

Feel free to reference our lunar prospector animation page at www.thehansens.com/aas for an artistic look at the impact.

On Thu Jul 29 11:44:55 1999 , reshmanagus (sameshayne@hotmail.com) wrote:

This is my view;the moon as such belongs to no-one in particular,even if the Americans staked it when they first landed their. From down here(on earth)the moon belongs to all of us(and everything)and as we all know the moon has many influences on the earth.As a result of this there is a relationship btw. all the heavenly bodies esp. btw. the sun,the moon,the earth and its inhabitants.It is well documented in our history in all aspects of our lives;from tides to astrology & etc,history will tell you how important the moon is in our everyday lives,both personally,individually,collectively & globally.So.. Why without global permission,collective human decision have u and who ever else is with u in this decided that this "little" experiment is such a good idea!? Is it not possible that repecussions will follow from this stupid event,suptle reactions from the moon affecting our earth our water masses and everything in it & on it.Stupid fools doing this without my permission.Ignorant humans looking for answers in

On Thu Jul 29 13:21:16 1999 , Robert Brooks (robertb@geocities.com) wrote:

What a pity... I was hoping that this Bulletin Board would contain discussions of upcoming technical events, like the spinup due in about 12 minutes. But there's a silver lining to everything... now I know that there's an awful lot of misinformation out there. "Water environment"? That's like calling the earth a "Gold Environment". Worries about subtly affecting the moon? Yeah, just like a bug affects my car at 80mph. Folks, there's a lot of education that needs to happen before we can hope to colonize space. Meanwhile, I recommend Heinlein's "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress"...

On Thu Jul 29 14:59:56 1999 , Joe Montani (jmontani@LPL.Arizona.edu) wrote:

Those of us with small telescopes will be sure to be watching at the appointed time. Would not miss it for... the world?...the moon? This is a wondefully rich way to end the mission, and extract the maximum of scientific outcome right up to the very end; it is also in the spirit of Apollo, when the landers were crashed into the surface after serving their function, in order to provide lots of vibration for the growing lunar seismology network. It is surprising that there is not MUCH more media coverage of this present experiment. It is groundbreaking science in more ways than one. My hats off to the investigators. A reminder: before Comet Shoemaker-Levi 9 crashed into Jupiter, many were predicting that even large telescopes would see no effect in Jupiter's atmosphere. But as everyone knows, even the smallest of backyard telescopes revealed the black spots easily and excitingly. We may well see something this time too!

On Thu Jul 29 15:05:55 1999 , Joe Montani (jmontani@LPL.Arizona.edu) wrote:

Something grabled the end of my first post: try again; It would be better to participate and to get a null result than not to try at all. Good luck to all observers, and once again, congratulations to the LP investigators, and I hope you carry out further missions! Cheers. --Joe Montani/Spacewatch/Univ. of Arizona/USA

On Thu Jul 29 16:30:58 1999 , PAUL (oldbob@TheVision.NET) wrote:

Hi everyone, This event is something really special. How often do we have the notice that NASA has provided us with of such an impact? Even though it may be almost 3:00 AM, Saturday morning, in California, I'll be stationed in the Sierras, with my 8" SCT. If by some tiny chance I see , or photograph it, I will have something to talk about for the rest of my life. Paul Neidhamer Stockton Astronomical Society

On Thu Jul 29 18:18:25 1999 , raul real (realapar@rieder.net) wrote:

I want to know if can be any problems or some bad influence in earth about the prospect mission

On Thu Jul 29 18:58:02 1999 , Lorraine Smith-Phelan (lorrainesp@earthlink.net) wrote:

I'm happy to see that at least one other message on this bulletin board paid tribute to Eugene Shoemaker, whose cremated remains will be carried to the Moon's surface when Lunar Prospector impacts. What a fitting tribute to a great scientist and human being! Congratulations to Carolyn Porco for having the vision to suggest such a touching and symbolic addition to a magnificent mission.

On Thu Jul 29 19:28:48 1999 , Victor Austin (victor@cfdlab.ae.utexas.edu) wrote:

Editorial Note: There seems to be some confusion over the time of the impact. It seems that somewhere (I haven't found out where yet) the time is given as 0352 CST. While this is technically correct, most regions in the Central Time Zone are currently using Daylight-Savings time. The impact will occur at 0452 CDT (Central Daylight Time). Which is also 0552 Eastern Daylight Time and 0352 Mountain Daylight Time and 0252 Pacific Daylight Time. Hope this clears up any confusion.

On Thu Jul 29 20:15:28 1999 , Victor Austin (cfdlab.ae.utexas.edu) wrote:

In response to the earlier post which asked for information on the spinup: Lunar Prospector's spin rate was increased from 12.18 rpm to 23.4 rpm. The extra centrifical acceleration due to the increased spin rate will help move the last remaining fuel to the thrusters.

On Fri Jul 30 05:25:07 1999 , myron e. wasiuta (wasiuta4@bigplanet.com) wrote:

I will be imaging the event from the East Coast in strong twilight. Is there any advantage in using an IR filter vs. just imaging in visible light? My setup includes an AP 6.1"f7 ref with Lynxx ccd camera. Thanks!

On Fri Jul 30 07:53:32 1999 , Roger Hill (roger@www.systemsxcellence.com) wrote:

The Hamilton Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will attempt to observe this event with a monochrome TV camera and a 17 inch telescope. Keep your fingers crossed!!

On Fri Jul 30 09:17:40 1999 , Stuart Pendleton (stoopendo@hotmail) wrote:

Has any man-made object ever crashed into the moon before?

On Fri Jul 30 09:55:49 1999 , Michael Stoliker (stolikmc@enter.net) wrote:

Stuart, There have been quite a few man-made objects crash into the moon. For more information, go back to the Lunar Propector Home Page, click the History button in the image map, then click on the Time-line link on the history page. You will see a partial listing of moon missions from the US, Russia, and Japan. Clicking on the mission lines will bring up a description of the individual mission. In most cases it will give some indication of what became of the spacecraft (impact, soft landing, return to earth).

On Fri Jul 30 11:17:38 1999 , DJGONZALES (djgonzales@kfwbmail.com) wrote:

Is it true that Shoemaker's ashes are on the Prospector?

On Fri Jul 30 11:51:24 1999 , Hugh Selman (selman@ix.netcom.com) wrote:

Recognizing that amateur observation of a plume is unlikely, should a moon filter or some other filter be used or is best chance to observe unfiltered?

On Fri Jul 30 14:40:43 1999 , Steve Honodel (steve.honodel@lmco.com) wrote:

For those amateur observers like myself, I'm told that blocking part of the field stop (in the inlet side of the eyepiece is the standard way of blocking most of the bright moon to enable seeing the dimly lit impact plume). I personally hope to wake up to catch it and say goodbye to hardware that I nursed through assembly, test and deployment, the coilable booms holding the science instruments. Go out with a bang, baby!!!

On Fri Jul 30 15:56:16 1999 , Benoit Belanger (benic@globetrotter.qc.ca) wrote:

telescope celestron 8 + CCD

On Fri Jul 30 16:57:34 1999 , Ken Huckeba (jeepster@lightspeed.net) wrote:

I was reading my September issue of "Sky and Telescope" a reader expressed his desire for a good program with a detailed lunar atlas. Is there such a program? Is there a larger picture of the portion of the moon that will be impacted to aid in more precise aiming? I can't wait. I'll be remembering Eugene Shoemaker's excellent television shows. This is VERY reminiscent of the Star Trek movie "Wrath of Khan" when Spock's remains were shot at the new world created by Genesis. This event is most human...

On Fri Jul 30 17:18:47 1999 , Bob Stewart (rhshrs@pilot.infi.net) wrote:

I observed the moon on Thur evening July 29. The libration and illumination does not favor finding the crater "short". If you find "tycho", then go directly to the southern limb and look between there and the south cusp, you should be able to see anything that happens. Lets not forget, this is a fitting way to end GENE SHOEMAKER's study of the moon!

On Fri Jul 30 17:26:13 1999 , Seity (Seity@excite.de) wrote:

Iwill have informations about the impact from lunar prospector

On Fri Jul 30 18:20:48 1999 , Fred Becker (fred.j.becker@lmco.com) wrote:

Lifegiving water may be liberated tonight as a signal to Earth that while the Moon is dead, it awaits life from Earth. It if so fitting that some of the momentum needed to create this signal is provided by the ashes of Eugene Shoemaker, who was a leader of us all in looking up at the Moon and beyond.

On Fri Jul 30 18:47:54 1999 , ninsaki (ninsaki@disinfo.net) wrote:

Thanks to UT for providing this cool page! The people who keep complaining about a negative enviromental impact from this experiment are a perfect example of the dire need for better science education in the US!

On Fri Jul 30 18:48:44 1999 , Bob Watt (rdwatt@home.com) wrote:

What filters should be used to pick up the dust plume?

On Fri Jul 30 20:27:23 1999 , Dennis Collins (DSCollins@aol.com) wrote:

Dr. Shoemaker finally hammers the moon. I always though he was a pretty neat guy; he changed MY mind about catastrophe theory.

On Fri Jul 30 20:40:45 1999 , Paul Goelz (pgoelz@eaglequest.com) wrote:

Hi everyone. Just a quickie to let you know that I will be putting up "live" still frame captures of the event beginning at approx. 0900 UTC (5:00AM EDT). Check out http://www.eaglequest.com/~pgoelz and go to the "Special Evant" link. See ya tomorrow! Paul Goelz http://www.eaglequest.com/~pgoelz

On Fri Jul 30 21:09:39 1999 , Igor (saoleao@u-net.com.br) wrote:

I need to known at what time in São Paulo Brazil hour, will hapen the impact??? And good luck.

On Fri Jul 30 21:23:00 1999 , Tim Cerka (Tialpa@earthlink.net) wrote:

I feel honored to be taking part in this event. It will be my first official act as an amateur astronomer. My eye is only a 4.5" Newtonian with a crude CCD recording to video. Unfortunatly I have no time signal, I need to get a short wave radio. I may not see the plume tonight but I will at least get some good video of the South Pole, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. I have only 3 filters; ND96, 82A, and a LP-1, will any of these help clarify my odds?

On Fri Jul 30 21:28:47 1999 , Victor Austin (victor@cfdlab.ae.utexas.edu) wrote:

Latest News: Preliminary reports following the 1st burn indicate that the boost was slightly stronger than planned. This put Prospector in a slightly higher orbit and the impact will occur 1 minute later than planned. The impact will occur at 09:52:02 UT.

On Fri Jul 30 22:34:19 1999 , Victor Austin (victor@cfdlab.ae.utexas.edu) wrote:

Take a look at the observations page to see an image of the impact area take last night with the 82 inch here at McDonald Obs. I'm operating the 32inch tonight and will let you know if I see anything. Right now things are a bit overcast.

On Fri Jul 30 22:34:54 1999 , Robert C. Motts (rcmotts@netscape.net) wrote:

Will be looking for Gene's Big Splash !, with a Meade 12" and attached Toshiba CCD Video Cam with timed input, from El Dorado Hills, CA

On Fri Jul 30 22:35:32 1999 , Victor Austin (victor@cfdlab.ae.utexas.edu) wrote:

Sorry, the board was down for a few minutes and people were unable to post. Everything should be fine now.

On Fri Jul 30 22:37:17 1999 , Andrew.Puryear (alp6458@aol.com) wrote:

Will the extra boost cause the LP to impact at 10 degrees? Or will it cause a lower angle of incedence? -Andrew

On Fri Jul 30 22:37:47 1999 , pgreene (pngreene@entgrp.com) wrote:

great site & animations....

On Fri Jul 30 22:58:00 1999 , Joanne (Lykapus@aol.com) wrote:

"Dammit Jim I'm a doctor not an astronomer". Sorry Bones what were we thinking ?

On Fri Jul 30 23:40:12 1999 , David Dodge (daviddodge@home.com) wrote:

Way to go, Eugene!

On Sat Jul 31 00:04:41 1999 , Bonila (Bonila1@aol.com) wrote:

I don't remember anyone asking me if they could do this to THE MOON ? Does NASA own the Sun as well?

On Sat Jul 31 00:30:18 1999 , dadylonny (dadylonny@hotmail.com) wrote:

what will the central mountain time of the impact be?

On Sat Jul 31 00:34:20 1999 , max (maxxcomm@aol.com) wrote:

I applaud the faster, better, cheaper discovery program. the pathfinder and prospector programs are innovative and exciting science.

On Sat Jul 31 00:40:04 1999 , Paul Edwards (edspjd@spidernet.com.cy) wrote:

will this information help in the colonization of the moon in our lifetime. the prospect of man living on the moon exites me, and I belive experiment like this will push us forward in space exploration.. hope it all goes well..

On Sat Jul 31 00:46:00 1999 , Craig Messerman (cmflyer@bigsky.net) wrote:

Ready to observe in Missoula, MT, mainly in spirit, because I have but a 4.5" scope. But some of my students did Moonlink, so I thought it fitting to be up to say goodby to a great little ship.

On Sat Jul 31 00:54:55 1999 , MAX (maxxcomm@aol.com) wrote:

I was a little dissapointed at some of the paranoid, misguided opinions expressed here. Does everybody realize that this 2ton object is an 8ft drum with antenea. have you tree huggers been to a pick and pull lately. hello. the ecological( or whatever the moon version of that word is "lunalogical" impact" pardon the pun" is negligble. please support nasa and UT and be excited at the flegling steps that will support intra/extra-solar excursions. thank you

On Sat Jul 31 00:55:59 1999 , Neal Foreman (NealcarriF@aol.com) wrote:

Will this be visable to a 5"refractor?

On Sat Jul 31 01:30:20 1999 , pdh (pdh@1earth.net) wrote:

can it bee seen in australia

On Sat Jul 31 01:34:35 1999 , KW (wah_20@hotmail.com) wrote:

i just wonder if there is any unknown deadly virus hidding in the ice,and spread to the earth after the impact

On Sat Jul 31 01:45:03 1999 , Bob (ideaworks@volcano.net) wrote:

...

On Sat Jul 31 01:45:38 1999 , Joe (joemann@chicagonet.net) wrote:

One small step for (a) Lunar Prospector, one giant leap for mankind. I saw Armstrong, and hope to see this too (after the fact)! This is sort of like the prize at the bottom of the Cracker Jack box, you never call tell ahead of time, what's in it for you. Good Luck to all, Go LP!

On Sat Jul 31 01:49:11 1999 , vince coberly (warlock@spii.net) wrote:

are there aney web sites that will have actual footage of impact ?? as i have a very small scope and i live in ohio so i have a very poor chance to see it at all...

On Sat Jul 31 02:31:43 1999 , Mark W (beefree@earthlink.net) wrote:

I was goin to watch, but it's foggy here in San Francisco (big surprise). Anybody got a good vantage point?

On Sat Jul 31 02:37:39 1999 , Glen Wurden (wurden@trail.com) wrote:

An outstanding night here in New Mexico! The moon is bright, and the skies are calm.

On Sat Jul 31 03:01:01 1999 , Andy Brenner (anbre@microz.net) wrote:

did it happen?

On Sat Jul 31 03:07:13 1999 , keith (keith23102) wrote:

what time in mi.

On Sat Jul 31 03:23:56 1999 , Richard Penner (rpenner2@netscape.net) wrote:

About 90 minutes to impact -- if you need help with UTC/GMT times, try http://www.bldrdoc.gov/timefreq/javaclck.htm (Requires Java) I'm a bit concerned about issues relating to the fact that the impact site is about one light-second (300,000 km) from us. Is the announced time the OBSERVED (Earth frame) impact time? :-)

On Sat Jul 31 03:36:54 1999 , Dave Schlom (dschlom@cuhsd.tehama.k12.ca.us) wrote:

A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to be the unofficial guide and host for Gene, Carolyn and David Levy during their visit to CSU Chico (to honor Carolyn -- an alumnus). Gene enchanted me all day and I revered him as a kind of "favorite uncle." At lunch, he casually announced to me that he was about to publish a paper with colleagues about Clementine finding evidence of water ice in the shadows of deep south polar lunar craters. I was amazed and awestruck by this announcement. My family and I were deeply saddened by the death of this great man. My deepest thoughts and yes -- prayers -- are with his dreams and ashes this morning. May they find their final rest in a figurative and (I hope) literal, cosmic burial at sea. God speed Gene Shoemaker. Love, Dave Schlom

On Sat Jul 31 03:42:51 1999 , KRUSHER wrote:

HEY CAN SOMEONE PLEASE PLEASE GIVE ME THE MOST UP TO DATE TIME PST OF THE INPACT, IVE SEEN TO MANY DIFFRENT TIMES ON DIFFRENT SITES THAKN YOU!! AND YEA IM YELLING WITH JOY AND HOPING I CAN AT LEAST SEE THE DUST THIS EVEN IS HUGE

On Sat Jul 31 03:44:24 1999 , Alexander Williams (thantos@gw.total-web.net) wrote:

Even with only a 10% chance of seeing ice ejecta, this is a fine end both for Prospector and for modern astro-science. I'm pleased and honoured to even be a periphrial part of the moment.

On Sat Jul 31 03:46:36 1999 , krusher wrote:

i dont wanna be a spammer but if i hit reload it will just sed my old message and i need to see if there are updates. i tried clearing cache that aint working,. how can i refresh without repoting?

On Sat Jul 31 03:49:51 1999 , Poz (poz@centech.demon.co.uk) wrote:

Gene, if you've got to go, then this is the way!

On Sat Jul 31 03:53:25 1999 , Richard Penner (rpenner2@netscape.net) wrote:

About one hour to impact, Final Burn instructions should be sent at this time. Amusing note: This should reduce periapsis altitude from +17 km. to -166 km. CGI note. use the go button to travel back to the last page BEFORE coming to this chat page. Then click on the link that brings you here. This FIRST page is the only page safe to reload.

On Sat Jul 31 03:58:06 1999 , Paul Richardson (richardson_paul@compuserve.com) wrote:

Does anyone know if there is a live video site?

On Sat Jul 31 03:58:08 1999 , Daniel Pertot (dpertotATgmx.net) wrote:

For UTC as server pushed gif look at tycho.usno.navy.mil/utclock.html . By the way, are there any live pictures of the impact?

On Sat Jul 31 04:01:37 1999 , Nick (Nick@attitude.com) wrote:

Just another space observer

On Sat Jul 31 04:07:13 1999 , Martin Yarema (niteowl@cgocable.net) wrote:

A little haze in Oakville Ontario here but i'm up so I will still try to see.Good luck Guys.

On Sat Jul 31 04:16:30 1999 , Richard Penner (rpenner2@netscape.net) wrote:

It all is well, the Prospector is in the middle of a nominally catastrophic burn. This delta-V is, as I understand it, behind the moon, and not visible. If I read this right, there will be no further sign of the Prospector prior to impact.

On Sat Jul 31 04:17:30 1999 , KRUSHER wrote:

OK GOT THE RELOAD RIGHT, BUT I STILL NEED TO KNOW APROX IMPAC TIME PST somenoe please Tell me!!! :) i dont wanna miss this oppertunity :) thank you all! and happy viewing

On Sat Jul 31 04:19:22 1999 , Alexander M Zoltai (farshore@usa.net) wrote:

A little over 30 mins. to impact... Some are asking about live video. The closest I've seen is this site. http://www.eaglequest.com/~pgoelz/impact1.html

On Sat Jul 31 04:20:05 1999 , Martin Y wrote:

At around 04:51 or in 20 mins

On Sat Jul 31 04:20:59 1999 , Martin Y wrote:

At around 04:51 or in 30 mins sorry

On Sat Jul 31 04:24:09 1999 , Robert Kozak (MVVS@aol.com) wrote:

It's about 4:15a.m. and the moon has never looked better! It's clear and the view is spectacular from here in the Woodlands,TX. Good Luck!

On Sat Jul 31 04:33:46 1999 , Alexander M Zoltai (farshore@usa.net) wrote:

This is great! People from all over getting together here to "witness" this thing... I don't have a scope, just strolled outside and looked up at the moon, realizing that many others are doing the same thing; warm fuzzies all over! I'll reprint another wonder person's message for the benefit of all: Paul Goelz (pgoelz@eaglequest.com) wrote: Hi everyone. Just a quickie to let you know that I will be putting up "live" still frame captures of the event beginning at approx. 0900 UTC (5:00AM EDT). Check out http://www.eaglequest.com/~pgoelz and go to the "Special Evant" link. See ya tomorrow! Paul Goelz http://www.eaglequest.com/~pgoelz

On Sat Jul 31 04:36:22 1999 , hansjörg (alpha110@hotmail.com) wrote:

the impact may be seen by the adress www.unitedspacealliance.com/liveNASATV.htm for this you need realplayer

On Sat Jul 31 04:37:47 1999 , Francis Murphy (fxmurphy@voicenet.com) wrote:

Clear skies here in southeastern PA Hope to see something. Good Luck to every one watching!

On Sat Jul 31 04:39:19 1999 , PL Onesty (n2lka@frontiernet.net) wrote:

Just checking in for the impact....

On Sat Jul 31 04:40:12 1999 , Bill Meara (n2cqr@erols.com) wrote:

Good Morning!

On Sat Jul 31 04:41:40 1999 , Andre Peters (aapeter@ibm.net) wrote:

I am sorry, no time, I will contact you soon. BR Andre

On Sat Jul 31 04:42:00 1999 , Antonio (antonio@lastminutetour.com) wrote:

the correct url to see the impact is: http://www.unitedspacealliance.com/live/NASATV.htm

On Sat Jul 31 04:45:34 1999 , Alexander M Zoltai (farshore@usa.net) wrote:

I'm at the USA/NASA TV site but there's just a still image of their logo up... No moon...

On Sat Jul 31 04:46:29 1999 , Steve Cook (cookie@yoyo.org) wrote:

I've followed the NASA TV link, but I'm just getting a "testcard" image. Does anyone have any information about whether a plume has been spotted? I'm in Sweden, where it's a lovely sunny day, so I certainly can't see anything from here :-)

On Sat Jul 31 04:48:45 1999 , Don (otiswright@aol.com) wrote:

Clouded up here in Nebraska! Dang!

On Sat Jul 31 04:49:48 1999 , anonymous coward (fiftyfootspum@hotmail.com) wrote:

Is there a web site providing realtime data for this event?

On Sat Jul 31 04:50:14 1999 , Don (otiswright@aol.com) wrote:

Clouded up here in Nebraska! Dang!

On Sat Jul 31 04:51:32 1999 , Martin Y wrote:

here we go here we go here we go

On Sat Jul 31 04:51:58 1999 , Greg (greg@inforamp.net) wrote:

anytime now. I cant see *&$% in Toronto

On Sat Jul 31 04:52:56 1999 , Richard Penner (rpenner2@netscape.com) wrote:

OK -- it's been several seconds now. Has anyone seen an ejected plume? :-)

On Sat Jul 31 04:54:50 1999 , Steve (Stevenlindenmeyer@msn.com) wrote:

What is current spacecraft status?

On Sat Jul 31 04:55:45 1999 , Martin Y wrote:

THUD

On Sat Jul 31 04:55:50 1999 , greg wrote:

should be in several pieces now :D

On Sat Jul 31 04:56:49 1999 , Keith Wichman (dynascope@yahoo.com) wrote:

The NASA lunarimpact.com page says that it has impacted the moon... details to follow. Foggy here in West Michigan!

On Sat Jul 31 04:56:55 1999 , anonymous coward wrote:

from lunarimpact.com: Lunar Prospector crashed into the Moon on July 31 1999 at 09:52 GMT.

On Sat Jul 31 04:57:32 1999 , glenn (105610.3225@compuserve.com) wrote:

what's happening? did it hit yet? how do i get the right time? I'm observing from long island, ny.

On Sat Jul 31 04:57:36 1999 , Bill Arnett (billa@znet.com) wrote:

I had good conditions but saw nothing. As expected :-)

On Sat Jul 31 04:58:19 1999 , greg wrote:

it went with a BANG, not a whimper

On Sat Jul 31 04:59:01 1999 , Alexander Williams (thantos@gw.total-web.net) wrote:

Looks like the very epitome of "crunch time." Goodnight, sweet prince; may flights of angels wing thee to thy rest.

On Sat Jul 31 04:59:52 1999 , Mike R (mbr@uswest.net) wrote:

Perfect conditions in Phoenix but nothing visible.

On Sat Jul 31 05:00:42 1999 , mikeciarlone (gdcdevon@msn.com) wrote:

what is sposes to happen

On Sat Jul 31 05:01:53 1999 , Ajai Sehgal (ajai@sehgal.net) wrote:

Observing with a low light video camera on a 13" F4.8 Newt. Seeing 2 to 2.5 arc-seconds. Nothing observed as expected.

On Sat Jul 31 05:02:08 1999 , M wrote:

Well Gene has made to the moon

On Sat Jul 31 05:02:20 1999 , robert motts (rcmotts@netscape.net) wrote:

Perfect skys here in Cal No plume as far as we can tell thru a 12"

On Sat Jul 31 05:03:29 1999 , Sleepless in California (panther@batnet.com) wrote:

Does anyone know of a (telescope) site that is going to put up a photo in the immediate future?

On Sat Jul 31 05:03:38 1999 , Bruno Aparicio (bmaparicio@mail.pt) wrote:

Are there any avilable pictures yet?

On Sat Jul 31 05:03:54 1999 , Dale Carlson (drc@oz.net) wrote:

Nothing visible south of Seattle, despite nice conditions. I guess I need a faster, better and cheaper telescope. Well, at least the "better" part :)

On Sat Jul 31 05:04:13 1999 , John (john@jgruson.demon.co.uk) wrote:

John on line

On Sat Jul 31 05:04:34 1999 , Paul E. Damphousse (SCpilot@aol.com) wrote:

Too bad no CNN coverage

On Sat Jul 31 05:04:59 1999 , greg wrote:

which puts the boots to the cheaper part ;)

On Sat Jul 31 05:05:57 1999 , Alana Finley (TerriStarz@aol.com) wrote:

Nope, nada, none.

On Sat Jul 31 05:05:58 1999 , Stephen Weber (truthfully@earthlink.net) wrote:

So how did it go? My.. I couldn't see anything but a beautiful moon on a clear night...

On Sat Jul 31 05:06:15 1999 , Marg (freeman@micron.net) wrote:

Great viewing of the moon and night sky, byt no plume. Oh well, my teenage boys and friend came out and watched with me - that was neat.

On Sat Jul 31 05:06:23 1999 , Richard Penner (rpenner2@netscape.net) wrote:

All of this made tonight a very eventful night. Maybe in the next hours the task I started at work 18 hours ago will finish and I can go home. Congrats to Paul Goelz (pgoelz@eaglequest.com) for his site - Remember, the HST (Hubble) can't see the lunar landing sites, and we know where those are. Thanks to all the amateurs.

On Sat Jul 31 05:06:24 1999 , Poul-Henning Kamp (phk@FreeBSD.org) wrote:

What ? are you telling me that CNN didn't have a crew on-site ? :-)

On Sat Jul 31 05:06:39 1999 , Sleepless (panther@batnet.com) wrote:

Dang! Didn't know that it would not permit refreshing without re-posting!

On Sat Jul 31 05:07:37 1999 , Dale Carlson (drc@oz.net) wrote:

Nothing visible south of Seattle, despite nice conditions. I guess I need a faster, better and cheaper telescope. Well, at least the "better" part :)

On Sat Jul 31 05:07:52 1999 , Steve (Stevenlindenmeyer@msn.com) wrote:

How did impact work? Did anyone get data?

On Sat Jul 31 05:07:55 1999 , Keith Wichman (dynascope@yahoo.com) wrote:

Folks... please state what size/kind of scope you are using if you give viewing report... even if it's negative. Thanks! Keith

On Sat Jul 31 05:08:10 1999 , Robert Brooks (robertb@geocities.com) wrote:

Skies are clear in Texas -- can't wait to find out what the team in Austin saw. Since the spacecraft is coming around to the impact site from the other side of the moon, we won't know if it landed short, will we? I hope the news media remembers that NASA only *expects* a 10% chance of success, but I'm afraid the headlines will be "NASA crashes $million spacecraft, gets nothing"... but at least *we'll* know better.

On Sat Jul 31 05:09:01 1999 , Jorn Barger (jorn@mcs.com) wrote:

Here's what Paul Goetz says: http://www.eaglequest.com/~pgoelz/impact1.html "For those of you tuning in late.... it was awful here at impact time and before. Hazy, cloudy, and I had an awful time SEEING the moon, let alone finding the imact site. I snapped some images just as the clouds cleared rith at impact time and I'll sort through them and see if I imaged the actual site. The best laid plans..... etc. For what it's worth, the word so far on the net is that none of the amateurs saw anything."

On Sat Jul 31 05:09:15 1999 , Sleepless (panther@batnet.com) wrote:

just checking

On Sat Jul 31 05:09:47 1999 , Martin Y wrote:

10" LX200 Oakville Ontario. Light cloud cover NUTS

On Sat Jul 31 05:10:51 1999 , robert motts (rcmotts@netscape.net) wrote:

Perfect skys here in Cal No plume as far as we can tell thru a 12"

On Sat Jul 31 05:10:53 1999 , Dale Carlson (drc@oz.net) wrote:

Oops, sorry about the double post. I hit "reload" without clearing the form first. Thanks to everybody involved in this. Even if no plume is observed, it was a great get-together!

On Sat Jul 31 05:11:29 1999 , n wrote:

So far, has everyone posting here been amatures? have any of the people at the big observatories posted anything? Here in CA, I didn't see anything. Of course, i'm inside and the blinds are closed.

On Sat Jul 31 05:11:39 1999 , Ryan Mikulovsky (mik@mistic.net) wrote:

Zelch on a 6" telescope. was fun leading up to the event! go nasa and lobby to keep that 10% budget cut from happening! And I mean HARD! :)

On Sat Jul 31 05:11:47 1999 , George E. Mahlberg (drcosmo@tw-zone.com) wrote:

No plume. No flash. In fact, no Moon. That's astronomy in humid NJ for you. My 12" & I are going to sleep now. Good night to all and good rest Eugene.

On Sat Jul 31 05:11:49 1999 , Jerry Straka (jstraka@pig.ou.edu) wrote:

Using an 10" scope with 200 x under good conditions. Nada in Norman, OK.

On Sat Jul 31 05:12:32 1999 , RMO Team (john.price@pnl.gov) wrote:

Eastern WA, Nice Skies. - 31" scope on Rattlesnake Mountain. No visible plume for us...

On Sat Jul 31 05:13:02 1999 , Jay Flynn (102412,707@compuserve.com) wrote:

Nothing seen in Los Angeles with 2.5 inch refractor (yes, I know it's small). Seeing was excellent.

On Sat Jul 31 05:13:41 1999 , Ken Brown wrote:

Nada here in Tampa through a 4" Meade. Hey, I know it was a long shot, but what the heck. No pain, no gain!

On Sat Jul 31 05:14:12 1999 , Stephen & Richard Brown (Sugrals@aol.com) wrote:

We observed with a 14.5" dobsonian. No visible plume yet. Beautiful skies in Dallas. Hope to get vision back in viewing eye soon! Oh well, planets are great.

On Sat Jul 31 05:14:21 1999 , eddie (Rufun@netscape.net) wrote:

need info from all ??

On Sat Jul 31 05:14:34 1999 , Hap Griffin (hgriffin@sumter.net) wrote:

8" LX-200 in South Carolina. Full cloud cover...no moon.

On Sat Jul 31 05:15:39 1999 , Paul Spudis (spudis@wt.net) wrote:

Here in Houston, viewing conditions were adequate -- light haze in clear skies. I watched with a 3.5" refractor at 80X. Negative results here. I'd like everybody here to pause for a thought for Gene Shoemaker, the founder of planetary science. Gene was killed 3 years ago in a car crash in Australia and a portion of his ashes were placed on the LP spacecraft. Gene's dream, 50 years ago, was to go to the Moon and do geology on it. Unfortunately, he had Addison's disease and was disqualified for astronaut selection. Gene -- you finally made it! Thank you for your contributions to science and to the Moon. I was honored to have been able to work with you on Clementine. I am thinking of you tonight.

On Sat Jul 31 05:16:13 1999 , Stephen & Richard Brown (Sugrals@aol.com) wrote:

We observed with a 14.5" dobsonian. No visible plume yet. Beautiful skies in Dallas. Hope to get vision back in viewing eye soon! Oh well, planets are great.

On Sat Jul 31 05:16:19 1999 , Bertoldo Schneider Jr (bertoldo@netpar.com.br) wrote:

Clouded up here in Curitiba. Brazil (25.48162S;49.21168W;1031m). I hope you have better news

On Sat Jul 31 05:16:20 1999 , Edward Olheiser (tubid@jps.net) wrote:

No plume visable, saw streak type flash, but not positive if it was during time of impact or not..And if it was my eyes! Anyway, I have a 12" Scope w/115x and 3x Barlow. Located In San Jose, CA. P.S. Clear Skys! think i'll stay up for a little longer!

On Sat Jul 31 05:17:04 1999 , Arturo Izquierdo (observat@ciencias.ciencias.unal.edu.co) wrote:

Sky at Bogota, Colombia some cloudy during crash time. No impact was observed as expected.

On Sat Jul 31 05:17:33 1999 , Boyd Moore (tbmoore@bealenet.com) wrote:

8", 50X in VA. Nothing seen, but it was fun

On Sat Jul 31 05:18:17 1999 , KRUSHER wrote:

TELESCOPE Jason 323-AF COMET CHASER RELECTOR TELESCOPE 160X power 480MM focal length 3" diamater used the bartlow lense X2 and a 20MM eyepeice.. Viewed.... NOTHING =( Is this a good telescope btw? any non amatures on here know about it or have a opinion please let me know whats its worth.. (yes considdering selling i need $$ heh)

On Sat Jul 31 05:18:24 1999 , Ron Bissinger (rbissinger@aol.com) wrote:

12" in SF bay area...nothing seen but smiling at the thought of Gene being where he always wanted to be...

On Sat Jul 31 05:18:36 1999 , Jeff (SFTopDawg@aol.com) wrote:

Any on-line sites with pics, yet?

On Sat Jul 31 05:18:38 1999 , Ron Bissinger (rbissinger@aol.com) wrote:

12" in SF bay area...nothing seen but smiling at the thought of Gene being where he always wanted to be...

On Sat Jul 31 05:18:38 1999 , Dale Carlson (drc@oz.net) wrote:

Re Edward Olheiser's report of a flash. Was that a bit north of where you expected? I thought it was my eyes too. Not so much a streak, just a little white dot. Couldn't have been it! FWIW, mine's a 12" F4 Newtonian

On Sat Jul 31 05:18:59 1999 , Keith Wichman (dynascope@yahoo.com) wrote:

12.5" homebuilt newtonian... Viewed moon through pea soup fog... (And they said that we amateurs would not be able to see any water vapor!!! I was enveloped in it! :))

On Sat Jul 31 05:19:10 1999 , Kathy (austikat@aol.com) wrote:

was is visible to the eye? My boys and I thought we saw it!!!! Maybe we were just seeing things

On Sat Jul 31 05:19:12 1999 , Lance (Farrell) wrote:

Slight haze in Indianapolis, 10" SCT filtered for downtown viewing, nothing visible for entire event but a normal looking moon.

On Sat Jul 31 05:19:17 1999 , KRUSHER wrote:

P.S. Orange county califonia.

On Sat Jul 31 05:19:44 1999 , Glen Wurden (wurden@trail.com) wrote:

I had perfect observing conditions, using a 4" Unitron refractor, visible light, and 200x eyepiece projection into a digital Vistura videocamera..... but saw nothing. However, Jupiter and Saturn looked really fine afterwards!!

On Sat Jul 31 05:19:47 1999 , Eric (ezpost@email.com) wrote:

What's the latest?

On Sat Jul 31 05:20:19 1999 , Boyd Moore (tbmoore@bealenet.com) wrote:

8", 50X in VA. Nothing seen, but it was fun

On Sat Jul 31 05:20:28 1999 , Bill Moore (wmoore@spacey.net) wrote:

No visible plume here in Melbourne, FL with my 8in Dobsonian. Great morning (very light haze) for moonwatching though! I didn't really expect to see anything but I just like the idea that I was looking through an eyepiece at the general area when Prospector crashed. Hope the big boys like Hubble and Keck saw something!

On Sat Jul 31 05:20:29 1999 , don (asp@sierra-resource.com) wrote:

16" beautiful conditions in the High Sierra nothing visible

On Sat Jul 31 05:21:00 1999 , Kathy (austikat@aol.com) wrote:

oo

On Sat Jul 31 05:21:43 1999 , michael may (may03@BauNetz.de) wrote:

hallo from germany under sunny skies on noon. have anybody imormations about first results ?

On Sat Jul 31 05:22:15 1999 , Arturo Izquierdo (observat@ciencias.ciencias.unal.edu.co) wrote:

Sky at Bogota, Colombia some cloudy during crash time. No impact was observed as expected.

On Sat Jul 31 05:22:46 1999 , Don (otiswright@aol.com) wrote:

This site attempted to have live pictures before, during and after the impact. He is to be applauded for his efforts, but I can't find his email address.http://www.eaglequest.com/~pgoelz/impact1.html

On Sat Jul 31 05:23:40 1999 , Lance (Farrell) wrote:

Slight haze in Indianapolis, 10" SCT filtered for downtown viewing, nothing visible for entire event but a normal looking moon.

On Sat Jul 31 05:23:57 1999 , Robert Brooks (robertb@geocities.com) wrote:

That's right... if you get tired of staring at the moon, just look towards the east. The intensely bright object is the planet Jupiter... the less bright, creamier-colored object a little farther east is Saturn. Both easily seen and brighter than anything around them. But no, you can't see the rings without a telescope. ;)

On Sat Jul 31 05:24:00 1999 , I Wonder Productions Lizz Edwards (IWonder414@aol.com) wrote:

Clear beautiful mountain skies here in northern ca. Just used a small scope and binoculars. No plume or anything of the unusual. I hope we get to see some good pictures. By the way, who is taking the pictures of this event? Lizz Edwards

On Sat Jul 31 05:24:02 1999 , Erik (erik@ebyte.com) wrote:

Clouds and daylight in Ohio, just refreshing.

On Sat Jul 31 05:25:34 1999 , Edward Olheiser (tubid@jps.net) wrote:

Dale, yepo, It was a little north of the 11 oclock position i was at. (Inverted) 5:25 and still no plume...

On Sat Jul 31 05:25:35 1999 , Eric (ezpost@email.com) wrote:

What's the latest?

On Sat Jul 31 05:27:25 1999 , Steve Cook (cookie@yoyo.org) wrote:

Latest news from www.lunarimpact.com; Initial reports from amateurs indicate that no plume was visible at the expected impact time through telescopes ranging in size from 6" to 31". No word yet from professional observatories or from amateurs using astro-video or CCD recording devices. So nothing we didn't know there then :-)

On Sat Jul 31 05:30:02 1999 , Dale Carlson (drc@oz.net) wrote:

Edward- Hmmm... unless it overshot by quite a bit, the little bright spot I saw for a second couldn't have been it. But it's interesting that you had the same impression. It was so fleeting that it could easily have been my eyes, the conditions, or my imagination. I wouldn't have even mentioned it had you not gone first :)

On Sat Jul 31 05:30:19 1999 , John Barnett (johnbarnett@rcn.com) wrote:

Observed from 0945 to 0958 UT at Richmond Va, used 8" newt refl.at 120x.Alas! no dust seen. Moon was low and air was heavy and hazy.

On Sat Jul 31 05:32:12 1999 , Ron Bissinger (rbissinger@aol.com) wrote:

12" in SF bay area...nothing seen but smiling at the thought of Gene being where he always wanted to be...

On Sat Jul 31 05:33:15 1999 , Edward Olheiser (tubid@jps.net) wrote:

Dale, Maybe your right on the overshot? they were already behind a minute :)

On Sat Jul 31 05:33:27 1999 , Erik (erik@ebyte.com) wrote:

Clouds and daylight in Ohio, just refreshing.

On Sat Jul 31 05:34:49 1999 , Rigel wrote:

Anyone out there?

On Sat Jul 31 05:35:16 1999 , Jones, Simon (simon_9042@yahoo.com) wrote:

Is there any where on the internet where i can view the actual impact???

On Sat Jul 31 05:35:42 1999 , Don (otiswright@aol.com) wrote:

This site attempted to have live pictures before, during and after the impact. He is to be applauded for his efforts, but I can't find his email address.http://www.eaglequest.com/~pgoelz/impact1.html

On Sat Jul 31 05:36:08 1999 , Dale Carlson (drc@oz.net) wrote:

Edward- Very funny :) But I think they would have mentioned that the point of impact had changed after the "hot" burn! Well, if we ever co-discover a comet, you can have first billing :)

On Sat Jul 31 05:36:12 1999 , Jones, Simon (simon_9042@yahoo.com) wrote:

Is there any where on the internet where i can view the actual impact???

On Sat Jul 31 05:36:30 1999 , Robert Brooks (robertb@geocities.com) wrote:

According to info on this site, the burn that raised the orbit was stronger than expected, raising the orbit higher than planned. This doesn't seem surprising since they're on their last 5kg or less of fuel, right? So it seems possible that the final burn (the far-side one we couldn't see) could have been too strong (crashing early) or not strong enough (staying in orbit longer). Hopefully, NASA will have some ideas later on. Meanwhile, I'm hitting the sack... thanks, NASA, for some early-morning excitement!

On Sat Jul 31 05:38:53 1999 , Jones, Simon (simon_9042@yahoo.com) wrote:

Is there any where on the internet where i can view the actual impact???

On Sat Jul 31 05:39:53 1999 , greg wrote:

not yet apparently

On Sat Jul 31 05:40:06 1999 , Jones, Simon (simon_9042@yahoo.com) wrote:

Is there any where on the internet where i can view the actual impact???

On Sat Jul 31 05:40:09 1999 , michael may wrote:

simon ..nobody knwo it... ;-)

On Sat Jul 31 05:40:51 1999 , erik (erik@ebyte.com) wrote:

Nice site pgoelz

On Sat Jul 31 05:40:51 1999 , Victor Austin (victor@cfdlab.ae.utexas.edu) wrote:

The Prospector Team did not reaquire the signal, so it definately did impact. More to come as I get it...

On Sat Jul 31 05:40:58 1999 , michael may wrote:

simon ..nobody knwo it... ;-)

On Sat Jul 31 05:41:36 1999 , Jones, Simon (simon_9042@yahoo.com) wrote:

Thanks Greg... Geuss il'e have to join the rest of the world on TV for now!!!

On Sat Jul 31 05:42:06 1999 , Keith Little (physicst@earthlink.net) wrote:

Does anyone know where to get the latest Hubble Space Telescope Images of the Impact?

On Sat Jul 31 05:42:37 1999 , Craig (cmflyer@bigsky.net) wrote:

Beautiful sky in Missoula, Montana. 4.5" Newt. You go, Gene!

On Sat Jul 31 05:42:49 1999 , n wrote:

I don't think that there is anywhere on the web where there is realtime data for this. the nasatv at broadcast.com is just a title card without any information on it.

On Sat Jul 31 05:43:11 1999 , Tracy (tracy@simmopod.freeserve.co.uk) wrote:

Hello from Britain, where it's lunchtime so we didn't have a chance of seeing anything, so this site has been great keeping me up to date.

On Sat Jul 31 05:45:56 1999 , steve (imtheocean@aol.com) wrote:

funny story...i knew absolutely nothing about this mission 2 hours ago as i was programming REM's "Man in (on?) the Moon" on the juke at the Ox in Missoula MT while waiting for my eggs and browns. when i got home, checked my email and was just about to sign off when i saw the link on aol's opening page, checked it out, and found the impact supposedly happened 9 mins earlier...: )) ...anyway, set up my telescope immediately (an old shakey 4" that gets the job done(thanks roxanne!)) and have been keeping tabs since... very clear Montana night skies, and no evidence yet of the impact

On Sat Jul 31 05:48:28 1999 , Bertoldo Schneider Jr. (bertoldo@netpar.com.br) wrote:

Any news?

On Sat Jul 31 05:49:22 1999 , Frank J. Cernik (Cernik@prodigy.net) wrote:

Watched from Scotia, NY, USA, just as the sun rose here. Sky was blue, clear with slight humid haze. Viewed Moon's South Pole at 181x with 6 in. Newtonian. Saw no changes or plume at limb up to 10 min. after impact time. Checked the www.lunarimpact.com page and saw impact occurred. Hope the data collected by the big scopes observing finds traces of Water in some form on the Moon! Water found there can only enhance our chances of mankind establishing a permanent presence in space. I feel sorry for those individuals who out of ignorance had posted worries about the possible effects of the prospector impact upon the Moon. They obviously have access to the internet, the greatest educational resource on the planet. They should avail themselves to use it to learn the real facts about our natural world. Also glad to see that Gene Shoemaker made it to the Moon. My 9-year-old daughter was happy she got up to look, even though we didn't see anything unusual. She really enjoyed seeing the rising sun and the /usr/sbin/sendmail victor@cfdlab.ae.utexas.edu

On Sat Jul 31 05:51:52 1999 , Paul Goelz (pgoelz@eaglequest.com) wrote:

Hello from murky Rochester Hills Michigan! Well, the best laid plans etc...... It was so hazy and cloudy here that I didn't have a chance to orient myself beforehand and only managed to snap a couple images at impact time. At least I didn't miss much! Sorry there weren't more images on my site ( http://www.eaglequest.com/~pgoelz/impact1.html ) but I was way too busy trying to see the danged thing through the clouds and attempt to get to the right area. But I have an image up now that was captured about a minute before impact... I think. I'll have to go back and look at the time tag on the file.

On Sat Jul 31 05:54:50 1999 , Steve Cook (cookie@yoyo.org) wrote:

Paul - you did a great job. I have been following your site and even though there was no impact image, it is hardly surprising, given that nobody has really caught one. What a shame the pros couldn't be on the ball too and post some information. Thanks.

On Sat Jul 31 05:55:50 1999 , KRUSHER wrote:

thanks to whoever pointed out the planets to the eat but i coudmt even get thoes. i dont thikn im verry good at aiming my telescope

On Sat Jul 31 05:56:27 1999 , Rick Pastor (rickpastor@gobi.com) wrote:

Thanks for your effort Paul !

On Sat Jul 31 05:56:53 1999 , Dale Carlson (drc@oz.net) wrote:

Paul- Nice site. Thanks for posting such a recent image, even if it doesn't show any evidence of the impact (would have been amazing if it had :) Not really on-topic, but this bulletin board is great. Is there such a thing for amateur astronomers to just get together and say profound stuff like "saturn looks nice tonight"? If not, it seems like there should be. I wouldn't mind hosting such a thing....

On Sat Jul 31 05:57:25 1999 , Paul E. Damphousse (SCPilot@aol.com) wrote:

The LP team reports a definite impact but no plume yet...

On Sat Jul 31 05:57:46 1999 , greg wrote:

Im sure there are IRC channels for it

On Sat Jul 31 05:58:31 1999 , erik (erik@ebyte.com) wrote:

Nice site pgoelz

On Sat Jul 31 05:58:42 1999 , Steve Cook (cookie@yoyo.org) wrote:

Paul - you did a great job. I have been following your site and even though there was no impact image, it is hardly surprising, given that nobody has really caught one. What a shame the pros couldn't be on the ball too and post some information. Thanks.

On Sat Jul 31 06:00:25 1999 , Jeff (sftopdawg@aol.com) wrote:

KRUSHER: If you aim your 'scope as weell as you type...

On Sat Jul 31 06:01:02 1999 , Rigel wrote:

Dale, there IS. There is a VERY good IRC channel dedicated to Amateur Astronomy. Checkout sciastro.net From there you can join the Astronomy channel (if you have JAVA) or it gives details on how you can join using an IRC client. Enjoy!

On Sat Jul 31 06:01:27 1999 , tom (tom@pctdirect.com) wrote:

hello, well did anyone see anything with a 10 or 12 scope?

On Sat Jul 31 06:02:31 1999 , Jack (synthesp@pacbell.net) wrote:

No plume seen from Los Angeles through my Meade ETX/90ec. :-(

On Sat Jul 31 06:02:45 1999 , Edward Olheiser (tubid@jps.net) wrote:

Night all! No plume, but i can see 4 of Saturn's moons and Jupiter's red stripes! Happy resting Mr. Shoemaker

On Sat Jul 31 06:03:54 1999 , Scott (Webmaster@ChicagoArea.Com) wrote:

Nice webwork here. Still looking but haven't found any good pics anywhere yet.

On Sat Jul 31 06:03:59 1999 , Scott (Webmaster@ChicagoArea.Com) wrote:

Nice webwork here. Still looking but haven't found any good pics anywhere yet.

On Sat Jul 31 06:04:39 1999 , Dale Carlson (drc@oz.net) wrote:

Rigel- Thanks!! It seemed like a pretty obvious idea!! :) I have an IRC client, and I'm looking forward to joining in, or at least lurking. Thanks again.

On Sat Jul 31 06:05:24 1999 , Brent Archinal (baa@casa.usno.navy.mil) wrote:

Observed visually with the 12-inch Clark refractor at the U. S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., at 500x, from 9:50-10:05 UTC, 1999.07.31. No trace of impact or debris cloud seen. 5 years ago last week with the same telescope, attempted to observe the "B" impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, along with Gene, Carolyn, and David. The faintest of the SL9 impacts, that event was invisible as well. But still remembering you Gene, and glad you finally made it to the Moon.

On Sat Jul 31 06:06:45 1999 , Rigel wrote:

Great, Dale! I am "there" now. BUT it seems that all the other Amateurs are either at their eyepiece or sound asleep at this time! There will be more there at more "normal" times! :)

On Sat Jul 31 06:07:12 1999 , joe caruso (jcaruso@pop..ma.ultranet.com) wrote:

here at oak ridge observatory, we used a 16" cass and 3.5" refractor w/a red filter; some fog ; no results

On Sat Jul 31 06:09:17 1999 , Dave Miller (drm4@netscape.net) wrote:

16" in Fresno Ca. no dust no plume. I guess you don't have to be a rocket scientist to be a rocket scientist.

On Sat Jul 31 06:10:23 1999 , Nigel (nigel.tonkin19@virgin.net) wrote:

Well, from sunny hampshire (UK) it seems that it either hit without raising a major plume, dropped short or possibly expired during the final burn. If the spots variously reported indicated an overshoot I imagine signal would have been reaquired and then lost? (Unless maybe it had a glancing impact,bounced and the debris landed long but I don't know the feasability of that!)

On Sat Jul 31 06:11:31 1999 , Lynn Fischer (lsfischer@earthlink.net) wrote:

I observed what appeared to be ejecta from the intended impact location at 09:52:50 UT. The event lasted about 1.5 - 2.0 seconds as I saw it. The plume was not uniform in brightness or 'thickness'. The seeing was excellent here in So. Calif. so that I was able to observe with a 4-mm eyepiece. Without this magnification, however, I am positive I would not have seen the impact event at all.

On Sat Jul 31 06:12:23 1999 , Dave Miller (drm4@netscape.net) wrote:

16" in Fresno Ca. no dust no plume. I guess you don't have to be a rocket scientist to be a rocket scientist.

On Sat Jul 31 06:13:54 1999 , Marcel (ve2acf@generation.net) wrote:

test

On Sat Jul 31 06:13:58 1999 , Rigel wrote:

Lynn, what scope did you use? (Aperture and focal length, etc)

On Sat Jul 31 06:15:27 1999 , Mickey Frome (Mickeyx32@aol.com) wrote:

Like to engage breaking news

On Sat Jul 31 06:15:38 1999 , Rigel wrote:

To REFRESH without re-sending your post, BACKup with your browser, delete what you posted, then hit the REFRESH key. Until you re-post, all you then have to do is hit the REFRESH key!

On Sat Jul 31 06:17:37 1999 , erik (erik@ebyte.com) wrote:

Nice site pgoelz

On Sat Jul 31 06:27:54 1999 , Ron Delvaux (rondelvo@servtech.com) wrote:

observed it here in Rochester NY no visible plume used a 10" newtonian Perfect seeing.......Thanks for this site it was great!

On Sat Jul 31 06:43:47 1999 , R Shearer (shearer@wcvt.com) wrote:

Got up early to see Jupiter and Saturn, first time through new ETX/90EC. Saw bands of Jupiter and three moon, saw rings of Saturn for first time in my life. With the radio tuned to WWV, had the 9.7 MM lens focused on the southern pole of the moon, saw nothing. But...this event got my butt out of bed to see these two planets, and I'm still jazzed from that. Took the time to identify a few moon features as well. All in all, a great event, even if the "star of the show" made no appearance. Thanks to all on the board for the story of Gene Shoemaker; a nice human touch to the event.

On Sat Jul 31 06:50:51 1999 , ARTURO GOMEZ (agomez@ctiow5.ctio.noao.edu) wrote:

From Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory in CHILE I used a 24" telescope,video camera and visual observation and a photographic camera(400 ASA) but the result was "negative". The sky conditions EXCELLENT,good seeing, clear nigth and the moon with a good hour angle. Well,next event will be better. greeting from Cerro Tololo,CHILE. Arturo Gomez.

On Sat Jul 31 06:53:53 1999 , Steve Cook (cookie@yoyo.org) wrote:

NASA have finally posted some information at http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast31jul99_1.htm Basically the report is that the Prospector crashed as planned and observations have been made, but there will be no data of cloud composition until tomorrow at the earliest.

On Sat Jul 31 07:22:45 1999 , Paul Goelz (pgoelz@eaglequest.com) wrote:

To all who have complimented me on my impact site... thanks! I really don't deserve it, though. After all I didn't even image the danged site! The best of intentions though. Anyway, check out the new link to occasional live solar imaages. At least I can find the sun! It's on both the main page and the videoastronomy page. Same deal... if it says "Previously Captured" it isn't live. Soon as the sun comes out from behind a tree, I'll go live.

On Sat Jul 31 07:24:08 1999 , Paul Goelz (pgoelz@eaglequest.com) wrote:

Sorry... URL is: http://www.eaglequest.com/~pgoelz

On Sat Jul 31 07:29:55 1999 , Lynn Fischer (lsfischer@earthlink.net) wrote:

I left out some vital information from my message posted here at July 31, 06:11:31. I used a f/3.8 Wright-Schmidt having a focal length of 475-mm and aperture of 125-mm. I was not able to photograph the event, but I did make a drawing. The plume was there and then it was gone. Immediately. The fact that I did see it was due to not blinking my eyes at the right time while looking at the right place with the right seeing to enable use of a 4-mm eyepiece. Subtract any of the above and I would have entirely missed the event.

On Sat Jul 31 07:34:32 1999 , Hugh Selman (selman@ix.netcom.com) wrote:

Using ETX at 100 power - no plume but enjoyed looking at the moon. To make the early rise worthwhile, great views of Saturn and Jupiter.

On Sat Jul 31 07:57:04 1999 , LQ-Minh (quocminh@hcm.vnn.vn) wrote:

I am impatient to learn the final analysis of any water-proven clouds from the impact. May be it will take some time for scientists to make it public, but it would be less stressful if a preliminary evidence could be seen on the lunar web site or CNN, whatever. The case seems more drastic if among the ice-filled portion of soil where the impact occured does not contain any trace of ice, whereas just 100 meters away there IS ice. How you, JPL team could explain the "cloud"?

On Sat Jul 31 07:58:39 1999 , LQ-Minh (quocminh@hcm.vnn.vn) wrote:

I am impatient to learn the final analysis of any water-proven clouds from the impact. May be it will take some time for scientists to make it public, but it would be less stressful if a preliminary evidence could be seen on the lunar web site or CNN, whatever. The case seems more drastic if among the ice-filled portion of soil where the impact occured does not contain any trace of ice, whereas just 100 meters away there IS ice. How you, JPL team could explain the "cloud"?

On Sat Jul 31 07:59:55 1999 , Ranger Dale (RANGERHATCH@worldnet.att.net) wrote:

God Bless Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker!! May Eugene send Carolyn, and, all of us, many New Comets!! Hope some got pictures after impact!! Clear Skies, Dale

On Sat Jul 31 08:24:07 1999 , Ranger Dale (RANGERHATCH@worldnet.att.net) wrote:

God Bless Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker!! May Eugene send Carolyn, and, all of us, many New Comets!! Hope some got pictures after impact!! Clear Skies, Dale

On Sat Jul 31 08:26:17 1999 , Oleg B.Khavroshkin (khavole@uipe-ras.scgis.ru) wrote:

Why does not nobody observe the impact image of the LP by a radiotelescope? Seismic vaves from impact will creat radiowaves(signals) which can receive. The radiovave seismology can appear.

On Sat Jul 31 08:31:17 1999 , The Bad Astronomer (badastro@badastronomy.com) wrote:

FYI: people have been asking about Hubble images of the impact. The instrument used on Hubble to observe the impact was a spectrograph, not a camera, so no images (in this case) will be made. The instrument takes spectra, which means that it breaks the incoming light up into its individual colors. These can be analyzed to see what chemicals are in the plume. We're hoping to see the signature of OH, a molecule formed when water gets hit by ultraviolet light. The instrument's name is the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, and I have info on it at http://www.badastronomy.com/bitesize/stism84.html.

On Sat Jul 31 08:52:14 1999 , Deb (Kinthu) wrote:

Thanks both to Paul for the good site and to Arturo, because I've been wondering how conditions were for viewing from the southern hemisphere. I didn't bother setting up here in Chicago 'cause we had 100 degree temps last night w/high humidity & clouds, wouldn't you know it. Checked NASA's page here at 9:00 CDT and there's nothing current at all. I expect they're either still analyzing, or scratching their heads over the same zip results the amateurs got.

On Sat Jul 31 09:02:22 1999 , Dominique Avrilleau (Byblos@wanadoo.fr) wrote:

Here is Toulouse,France ! Where is the moon ?

On Sat Jul 31 09:03:35 1999 , hedgy (billennox@hotmail.com) wrote:

Well, this has all been a bit of a 'non-event'..... How about sending some sort of purpose built spacecraft with multiple probes and 'bombard' a large area, with the data being collected 'on-site' by the orbiting 'mothership'?? But with NASA's recent budget cuts, this is probably not feasable.....

On Sat Jul 31 09:06:27 1999 , Dominique Avrilleau (Byblos@wanadoo.fr) wrote:

Here is Toulouse,France ! Where are you, chat people ? I'm serious !

On Sat Jul 31 09:18:11 1999 , Dominique Avrilleau (Byblos@wanadoo.fr) wrote:

I can send you the first image of the crash of Lunar Prospector. Be patient! I can show you that in a few minutes.

On Sat Jul 31 09:39:49 1999 , Brian Crucian (bec133@hotmail.com) wrote:

Houston Texas: Crystal clear skies last night. Using Meade 90MM. No plume visible. Good rest Gene. Cant Wait to see the professional pictures, hope they got some good ones. RESTORE NASA BUDGET!!!!

On Sat Jul 31 10:03:47 1999 , Rick Elphic (dogzdaddy@aol.com) wrote:

Lynn, what was duration? Ejecta on ballistic trajectories would rise and fall pretty slowly. Remember 1/6 g. Seems to me it would have been visible for more than 10-sec. Hi Paul Spudis.

On Sat Jul 31 10:06:30 1999 , Donna (sprocket@bellatlantic) wrote:

any chance that fragments can get into Earth's atmosphere and fall to earth?

On Sat Jul 31 10:09:55 1999 , Rick Elphic (dogzdaddy@aol.com) wrote:

BTW, clear, pristine skies (during impact) in Los Alamos, NM, home of the 3 spectrometers aboard Prospector. No joy on plume using Meade ETX90 with 3x barlow on 26mm Plossl = 8.7 mm, hence 144X. Just nothing. Fairwell LP, we barely knew thee.

On Sat Jul 31 10:14:11 1999 , Rick Elphic (dogzdaddy@aol.com) wrote:

BTW, clear, pristine skies (during impact) in Los Alamos, NM, home of the 3 spectrometers aboard Prospector. No joy on plume using Meade ETX90 with 3x barlow on 26mm Plossl = 8.7 mm, hence 144X. Just nothing. Fairwell LP, we barely knew thee.

On Sat Jul 31 10:29:38 1999 , Don Bates (psycho@electrotex.com) wrote:

Observed from northwest Houston with my recently home-built 6" with a home-made f7.1 primary. Good conditions, clear with above average seeing at times. "Negative" observation. At first I thought a small reflection on a crater rime might have been a plume, but it nver change, so it must have been a reflection. God bless you and keep you, Gene.

On Sat Jul 31 10:30:57 1999 , Harold Troya (harold63_99@yahoo.com) wrote:

If there is water,how affect the presence of the spacecraft material? It will be an polluent to the water? There are another mision of the prospector?

On Sat Jul 31 11:25:51 1999 , Nicolas Belohlavek (nbyva@usa.net) wrote:

Es posible que llegen a la tierra restos de la luna despues del impacto?

On Sat Jul 31 11:29:51 1999 , Simon Chung (schung@idmail.com) wrote:

8" SCT in Vancouver, Canada. Saw no plume at 200x.

On Sat Jul 31 11:38:27 1999 , Steve Dodder (sdodder@hotmail.com) wrote:

Obsevring from Stone Haven Observatory 40 miles SW of Phoenix, AZ. C8 SCT with 32mm eyepice projecting into (borrowed) Panasonic camcorder. Saw no plume, but got some awesome shots of our moon. I thought I saw a plume, but it turned out to be the sun on the rim of a crater. Gotta get me one of these camcorder things! :-)

On Sat Jul 31 11:50:32 1999 , Jerry Dobbins (jadobbins@citnet.com) wrote:

Kudos to you on your sucsess. Hope you get the results you are looking for.

On Sat Jul 31 12:07:41 1999 , hernan gonzalez wrote:

thanks nice site

On Sat Jul 31 12:08:06 1999 , myron e. wasiuta (wasiuta4@bigplanet.com) wrote:

Obtained a series of IR ccd images this morning at and following impact of LP. Used 6.1"f7 AP refr and Lynxx camera. Seeing very good, sky beyond limb very dark despite imaging instron twilight. Have not had chance to calibrate and process images yet, will post results ASAP. Looks like they will be negative.

On Sat Jul 31 12:21:00 1999 , CDR Will Miller, USNR- Retired (whmiller@sprynet.com) wrote:

I was curious if anyone knew what hazardous materials, if any, were carried aboard the Lunar Prospector, and what assessment, if any, NASA made with respect to lunar pollution.

On Sat Jul 31 12:30:59 1999 , Kevin Pryor (klp41x1j@aol.com) wrote:

Sorry to hear the post results of impact, recommend you scan closer to the surface with 500 feet, I believe due to a lack of atomsphere the material you seek has come up but not to the expected height as proposed, there is a possiblity that your window to recieve the proof of h2o may be shorter the expected, the gravity on the moon with make it even short then expected, it is now 1:28pm I am in New York State.. if the material is still there is will be as close as 100 ft to the surface by now.. good luck

On Sat Jul 31 13:00:37 1999 , Graham wrote:

Hay Gene, can you say Hi to my dad for me. Thanks for everything.

On Sat Jul 31 13:00:44 1999 , Craig Durben (funstarz@axs4u.net) wrote:

using 16" f4.5 scope and having a light cloud I saw no sign of impact. location was 10 miles south of San Antonio tx

On Sat Jul 31 13:04:31 1999 , Graham wrote:

Hay Gene, can you say Hi to my dad for me. Thanks for everything.

On Sat Jul 31 13:22:40 1999 , badger1 (badger1@idirect.com) wrote:

Three cheers for Gene Shoemaker, the first man in the moon!!!

On Sat Jul 31 13:28:27 1999 , Craig Durben (funstarz@axs4u.net) wrote:

24" f4 run remote with video 300x nothing to report watched tape several times location 50miles east of San Antonio TX clear at impact time =5min pre to 5min post.

On Sat Jul 31 13:41:39 1999 , Vicki Sieglen (mercury7@plateautel.net) wrote:

I live in the Southwest part of the U.S. in Northern New Mexico, and I was up about 3:30 a.m. to get my 4.5" reflector ready, so maybe I could catch something. I don't know what time I was but, while is was looking through my scope, I thought I saw something fall towards the moon, at speeds that seemed meteor like; I don't know if it was the Lunar Prospector, but I was around the right time, and at the South Pole of the Moon.

On Sat Jul 31 13:44:32 1999 , hannazimmer (hannazimmer@yahoo.com) wrote:

I remmember that some years ago,one crew member from Apollo project has noticed orange spots in some places where them had collected samples,and he says thats orange color may be relationed with oxidation of iron particles in the surface,but ocurred because a probably existence of water under the surface.What it meaning now?

On Sat Jul 31 14:03:54 1999 , dna wrote:

http://www.oz.net/~dnahelix/luna/lnrmpct.gif

On Sat Jul 31 14:04:03 1999 , Jack (jmartin@ccountry.net) wrote:

There has been so many nice things said about Eugene Shoemaker, very gratifying.

On Sat Jul 31 14:25:49 1999 , Marockford (vcoffman@netins.net) wrote:

So now we have polluted earth and made a junkyard of it we are doing it now on the moon? So how is NASA going to clean this up? And how much of my tax payers $ would you like?

On Sat Jul 31 14:32:42 1999 , poohgirl (vcoffman@netins.net) wrote:

If water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen then how could it be on the moon, because they say there is no oxygen on the moon.

On Sat Jul 31 15:08:30 1999 , HDPHANTOM (hdphantom@aol.com) wrote:

It seems that this event would be more "news worthy"

On Sat Jul 31 15:15:22 1999 , Barbara Wilson (bwilson2@ix.netcom.com) wrote:

Preliminary data from video recording with AstroVid 2000 1/2" ccd chip camera coupled to 36" f/7 Tinsley Ritchey-Chreitein George Observatory Telescope indcates negative observation of impact debris. However, a couple of potential anomalies need to be checked with subsequent video review. Larry Mitchell Dana Lambert Buster and Barbara Wilson

On Sat Jul 31 16:03:22 1999 , marockford (vcoffman@netins.net) wrote:

looking to read all prospectives

On Sat Jul 31 16:12:36 1999 , John Dias (john_dias@surveysampling.com) wrote:

:}

On Sat Jul 31 16:39:11 1999 , chris wilcox (chris.wilcox@virgin.net) wrote:

well did you find what u were looking for? :-)

On Sat Jul 31 16:56:13 1999 , Diego Vázquez (diegov@thebas.com) wrote:

Pictures about Prospetor´s crash.

On Sat Jul 31 17:55:51 1999 , tm (teacup@fn.net) wrote:

On Sat Jul 31 14:03:54 1999 , dna wrote: http://www.oz.net/~dnahelix/luna/lnrmpct.gif I see this on your list and it is a picture of something that looks like an impact. Is it a hoax????

On Sat Jul 31 18:02:38 1999 , Paul Spudis (spudis@wt.net) wrote:

To: Poohgirl "If water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen then how could it be on the moon, because they say there is no oxygen on the moon." Actually, the Moon is over 40% by weight oxygen!! The problem is that the oxygen is tightly bound in chemical compounds in the rock and soil of the moon. There is no "gaseous" oxygen on the Moon and the Moon itself is bone dry. The water we are looking for near the poles is from comets and water-bearing meteorites. Water ice is stable in the dark areas because they are VERY cold ~ only 50 degrees above absolute zero (-273 C). That's why it was important for LP to hit the shadowed floor of a crater near the pole. Hi, Rick Elphic! Congrats to you and the LANL crew on a great job with LP!!

On Sat Jul 31 18:39:24 1999 , John (71702.65@compuserve.com) wrote:

Light haze at 09:00 UT gradually changed to full cloud cover by 09:50 UT. Hot and Hazy NW suburb of Chicago. It was interesting to be a part of so many people looking for the same thing at the same time! Best wishes to Gene!

On Sat Jul 31 18:51:24 1999 , myron e. wasiuta (wasiuta4@bigplanet.com) wrote:

My IR ccd images fail to show anything unusual at the lunar south pole during and after impact of LP. I imaged with a 6.1"f7 AP refractor at f15. I would be happy to email either my processed or calibrated raws to anyone who is interested. Thank you NASA and LP for a scientific mission I will remember for a long time.

On Sat Jul 31 19:13:22 1999 , Cabbot Sanders (gammatron@home.com) wrote:

http://www.oz.net/~dnahelix/luna/lnrmpct.gif this is halarious! i think i've seen this "explosion" in some nuclear test footage.. hahaha.. anyways I REALLY DO BELIEVE that they missed the target all together, in fact it landed on the far side of the moon and thats why no one saw it (yea yea, i know some of you THINK you saw it) think about it.. If nasa screwed this up, you think they'd tell us??? no! everything with them is a success, remember? So, i really do believe that there was no visible impact at all. end of story!

On Sat Jul 31 19:16:59 1999 , Mike (mic669@yahoo.com) wrote:

Did we find water?

On Sat Jul 31 19:55:08 1999 , David Yarnell (StracCop@yahoo.com) wrote:

Bravo Gene! Someday we'll be back to give you a proper burial. Until then, rest in peace.

On Sat Jul 31 20:08:15 1999 , John Murdok (jmkkk@hotmail.com) wrote:

hello all of you. I have a homemade 6" refractor, and 50 mi east of LA out here in the mountains is where i travelled last night to watch the moon show. I brought along my WATEC WAT-902H CCD camera and I must of took over 200 exposures into my laptop during the 2 minute interval. i've been painstakingly going thru the images and i think i may have found a winner. please look at it and tell me what you think. I do not have any fancy enhancment software so if anyone out there can enhance this please let me know via email. thanks, John M. image url: http://24.5.74.115/astro/scans/imag0134.jpg

On Sat Jul 31 20:25:22 1999 , alison (nosila@ozemail.com.au) wrote:

In my opinion, the crashing of a derelict spaceship into the moon is the epitome of arrogance. I sincerely hope that the mission fails.

On Sat Jul 31 20:39:10 1999 , nigel (ndk@camtech.net.au) wrote:

With regard to John Murdoks photo's. Simple mathematical subtraction using the photo's on his website doesn't seem to show much difference with the one he suggested. Presumeably a subtraction of a photo with a plume and a photo one minute before should show the plume standing out with some degree on contrast. Nice photo's though.

On Sat Jul 31 21:04:27 1999 , John Murdok (jmkkk@hotmail.com) wrote:

yes i agree but due to atmospheric distortion the other images of the blast that i took (and there were few, as if i would of actually seen it with my own eyes, I would of taken more) were not as recogniseable.

On Sat Jul 31 21:15:33 1999 , Henry Bischaw (bis727@interprise2000.com) wrote:

I have enhanced Jon Murdocks image and he has posted the results. http://24.5.74.115/astro/scans/134edt.jpg

On Sat Jul 31 21:45:01 1999 , Bob Bowen (lucynbob@bright.net) wrote:

How long do you think it will take to find water?

On Sat Jul 31 22:08:32 1999 , Gary La Due (71664.611@compuserve.com) wrote:

We spent the night at 5000’ in the Sierras, viewed the south pole with 13 in f4.5 Newtonian, nagler 4.8mm at 300x- nothing unusual seen. Slightly disappointed but had a good night observing all the regular stuff. Good luck to all involved with the Lunar Prospector!

On Sat Jul 31 22:38:12 1999 , Frank A. Nymeyer (fnymeyer@hotmail.com) wrote:

Were any visual sitings made from earth of the dust from the impact? Were any amateur sitings possible?

On Sat Jul 31 23:09:07 1999 , Dr. Louis Binder (binder@onramp.net) wrote:

Working with at the George Observatory near Houston,TX on an 18 inch newtonian with an Astrovid Camera. Negative Observation of impact.

On Sat Jul 31 23:26:05 1999 , nick (nick-kath@juno.com) wrote:

any data yet?

On Sun Aug 1 01:08:36 1999 , Lynn Fischer (lsfischer@earthlink.net) wrote:

The image that John Murdok describes on his posting here of July 31, 20:55:08, and which can be viewed, along with an enhancement, at http://24.5.74.115/astro/scans/134edt.jpg is exactly as I saw the event and described in a fax prepared for Dr. Tony Phillips at his request. My original posting can be found here at July 31, 06:11:31, with equipment info at July 31, 07:29:55.

On Sun Aug 1 01:12:31 1999 , J.A.Pereira (jamaury@elogica.com.br) wrote:

What send results from astronomicals observatories?

On Sun Aug 1 01:23:15 1999 , Theresa (Theresa831@aol.com) wrote:

So, have they found water yet?

On Sun Aug 1 01:29:20 1999 , Andrew Davie (adavie@mad.scientist.com) wrote:

I've done some work on John Murdok's interesting picture, and you can see some image enhancements on the following URL... http://www.comcen.com.au/~adavie/plume/index.html

On Sun Aug 1 01:36:37 1999 , sriram (sriramanr@hotmail.com) wrote:

How was the path to moon found for the lunar spacecraft to crash on the moon.

On Sun Aug 1 02:41:24 1999 , Henry Manaster (hankman@globalserve.net) wrote:

Hi, What have they found so far as a result of the Lunar crash? Henry Manaster

On Sun Aug 1 02:54:34 1999 , George J. Brown (NADZAB.netscape.net) wrote:

After billions of years, why would water in any form still be on the moon? I haven't any curves showing how far down in temperature and pressure sublimation exists, but it would seem that any water however deposited would be long gone even in the bottom of a polar crater.

On Sun Aug 1 03:58:49 1999 , Mark Seaman (mark@seaman.demon.co.uk) wrote:

Apparently the crater NASA were aiming for is 4 kilometres deep, so it is very unlikely that any plume would be seen by optical telescopes. Indeed it is a positive indication as any visible plume would indicate the craft had hit the crater wall. I guess we'll just have to wait for the full analysis in a few days.

On Sun Aug 1 04:41:38 1999 , Tom Whicker (t.whicker@interpath.com) wrote:

I have done a bit of Photoshop work on John Murdok's image #134. By re-sampling to twice the pixel denstiy and applying some smoothing and contrast adjustment, a very interesting cloud feature can be seen. I have sent copies of the image to John and also to Lynn Fischer, for their comments. Perhaps John will post the enhancement on his web site. Tom Whicker Chapel Hill, NC