No abstract

Abstract. The occurrence and visibility of meteoroid impacts on the moon as seen from the earth were little more than speculation prior to November 1999. The best evidence of present-day impact activity came from the seismic experiments left on the Moon during the Apollo era. Past systematic attempts at earth-based observations to document lunar impacts revealed nothing conclusive. However, during the Leonid storms of 1999 and 2001, lunar impact events were for the first time confirmed by multiple independent observers. A total of 15 meteoritic impact flash events have been verified during these storms, with an additional 12 unconfirmed but likely events awaiting confirmation. Estimates of the mass of these meteoroids range from less than one gram for the faintest flashes to more than 10 kg for the brightest observed flash. The fraction of visible light to total energy produced by these events, a quantity known as luminous efficiency, averages about 0.001 for the established events. The confirmation of lunar meteoritic events on the Moon opens a new avenue in lunar and planetary research, one which could help bridge the gap between atmospheric sampling of the smallest components of meteoroid streams and interplanetary debris to the larger scale objects accessible to ground-based telescopes.

Abstract. Confirmed observations of meteoroids from the Leonid stream impacting the Moon in 1999 and 2001 have opened up new opportunities in observational and theoretical astronomy. These opportunities could help bridge the gap between the ground-based (atmospheric) sampling of the smallest meteoroids and the larger objects observable with ground-based telescopes. The Moon provides a laboratory for the study of hypervelocity impacts, with collision velocities not yet possible in ground-based laboratories. Development of automatic detection software removes the time-intensive activity of laboriously reviewing data for impact event signatures, freeing the observer to engage in other activities. The dynamics of professional-amateur astronomer collaboration have the promise of advancing the study of lunar meteoritic phenomenon considerably. These three factors will assist greatly in the development of a systematic, comprehensive program for monitoring the Moon for meteoroid impacts and determining the physical nature of these impacts.

No abstract

No abstract