In September 2003, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched their SMART-1 probe to study the moon. After completing its mission, SMART-1 is nearly out of fuel, and scientists plan to send it off with a bang.
I would say "Literally," but given there's no sound in a vacuum, that wouldn't be entirely true.
However, if there were air on the Moon, there would definately be a bang because the ESA plans to end the probe's mission by slamming it into the Moon's surface.
The result may be visible from Earth with the use of small telescopes. Experts have predicted that the resulting fireball from the energy of impact and the leftover fuel could be as bright as 7th magnitude (the faintest magnitude visible to the unaided eye in completely dark skies). However, other estimates say it may be more than 8 magnitudes fainter being about more than 1600 times too faint to see without aid.
However, it will be an interesting target for amateur and professional astronomers alike.
For more information, check out Space.com's article.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
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By the way, your avid readers might be better served if you space out your posts. Sure, you might have time all at once to write three or four, but what if you space them out over a few days instead of posting three within a one hour period?
If my schedule worked out that way it'd be wonderful.
:(
I'm curious about this statement:
However, other estimates say it may be more than 8 magnitudes fainter being well more than 20 times too faint to see without aid.
8 magnitudes would be about 1600 times fainter. 20x fainter would be somewhat more than 3. Each magnitude is about 2.5, and 5 magnitudes is 100x in brightness. Is this a math error, or did I misunderstand the statement?
Oops! It was a math error on my part. I think I did 5 magnitudes as 10x fainter instead of 100 and then rounded things off since I was in a hurry. I'll fix that!
Thanks for the sharp eyes.
Ahh, but see, you could write a bunch at once, and then save them up, releasing them bit by bit.
Trouble with that is that then other people in the blogsphere scoop me and then my blog isn't really worth reading.
Damn that PZ Myers~
I've tried writing something when the idea hits me, then saving it for a more appropriate release date. Unfortunately, Blogger seems to think that saving something as a "draft" on Tuesday means that when you edit it and publish it on Friday, it belongs way down the page with the other Tuesday stuff.
Blogger is pretty low-grade, but hey, it's free and does do some things fairly well.
Also, you could hear the impact of SMART-1 on the moon without the benefit of an atmosphere. Sound does conduct through solid objects, like regolith, so if one were kneeling on the moon, with one's air-filled helmet touching solid rock, would you be able to hear the impact transmitted through the solid material of the moon?
I'm curious about this statement:
However, other estimates say it may be more than 8 magnitudes fainter being well more than 20 times too faint to see without aid.
8 magnitudes would be about 1600 times fainter. 20x fainter would be somewhat more than 3. Each magnitude is about 2.5, and 5 magnitudes is 100x in brightness. Is this a math error, or did I misunderstand the statement?
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