The face of the Moon we see today has been substantially etched by the effects of meteor impacts. Craters on the Moon are the result of ancient impacts with large meteorites - or small asteroid-like bodies - which produced both primary craters (where the meteorites hit) and secondary craters (where material hurled high above the surface crashed back down). Even some of the vast lunar 'seas' - actually basalt plains from ancient volcanic eruptions - may have been the result of impacts that triggered lava outflows. The era of major impacts on the Moon may have passed, but lunar meteorites may well be the cause of whatare known as Lunar Transient Phonomena ('LTP' or sometimes 'TLP') flashes andpuffs of gas or vaporized rock or dust that are observed on the Moon's surface. This book looks at the way the Moon has been shaped by meteorites, proposeslunar meteorites as the most likely cause of most LTPs and describes in practical detail how amateur astronomers can observe impacts on the Moon, past and current. INDICE: Foreword. Introduction.- Part I: The Moon and Meteoroids. Widespread Evidence. Lunar Impact Features. Notable Collisions. A Catalogue of PIPs. Beyond the Moon.- Part II: An Observer's Guide to Lunar Meteor Impacts, Past and Present. A Practical Astronomer's Guide to Observing Lunar Features of Impact Origin. Impatcts Today. Lunar Transient Phenomena and Lunar Meteoroid Impacts. Lunar Impact Observation Programs. Observing Impacts as They Happen: Guidelines for Observing Lunar Meteoritic Phenomena. Helping to Find Collisions. Spurious Flashes. Future Directions in Lunar Meteor Impact Research.- Acknowledgements.- Appendix A: References. Appendix B: Equipment Checklist and Vendors. Appendix C: Details of Shortwave Time Signals for Astronomical Observations. Appendix D: Finding Limiting Magnitudes for Visual and Video Camera Observations. Appendix E: Standard Stars for Extinction Correction and Flux Calibration. Appendix F: Impact Plots.
- ISBN: 978-1-4419-0323-5
- Editorial: Springer
- Encuadernacion: Rústica
- Páginas: 252
- Fecha Publicación: 01/10/2009
- Nº Volúmenes: 1
- Idioma: Inglés