Lunar meteoroid impacts and how to observe them

Abstract

Up to this point, for the most part, we looked at lunar meteor impact observing from an amateur astronomer’s perspective. We also surveyed the products of meteoroid impacts – craters – on the Moon and throughout the solar system. Background information of these, as well as observing techniques, has been presented. This chapter changes the focus a bit, brings in a little professional perspective, and discusses how amateurs and professionals can work together to make a significant contribution to lunar impact research. The value of professional astronomers working alongside amateur astronomers had begun to be appreciated by the end of the twentieth century. Amateur astronomers have acquired better, more sophisticated equipment, such as CCD cameras, low-resolution spectrographs, photoelectric photometers, and filters. This coupled with the extra time that amateurs have to do such work, make the observations they produce comparable to those of some professional astronomers. However, the amateur astronomers do not have the assistance of a technician if something goes wrong, nor do they have the funding to expand their resources; both these are advantages of the professional. In addition, professional astronomers are equipped with the experience (through formal academic training) to do high-quality science.. The ability of the professional to carry on extended observing programs is limited by lack of available observatory time (and having to compete with their colleagues and the weather for that time), bureaucracy, peer review, budget and funding problems, lack of facilities for long-term projects, academic obligations, among other factors. With these things in mind, it seems that a partnership between the two communities should naturally evolve out of both groups’ desires to see the science of astronomy advance to its fullest.