SMART 1 Impact images (or lack of)

[Zac Pujic]

I tried to image the Smart-1 impact into the Moon at 3.42 pm today.

Although completely cloudless, it was windy which buffeted my 12 inch. Also, Brisbane was in daylight for the impact so S/N ratio is low. A stack of about 20 images around the impact time of 3hr 42m 17s (AEST) is here,

http://astroimg.org/LunarPics/MAP2-finder-small.jpg

Sunday, September 3, 2006. 3h 42m 14s to 3h 42m 16s
31 cm Newtonian, f/21. SkyNyx 2.1M camera. Wratten 25A filter.
Frames stacked using Registax 4 beta.

The red circle marks the area of the impact. Obviously, which the quick preliminary processing, I did not detect an impact flash which is hardly surprising since it was expected to last 20 milliseconds and be about 17th magnitude. I will go through frame by frame and enhance each one to see if I can detect it.

Hawaii did detect the impact.

http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/News/Smart1/

Zac Pujic
Brisbane, Australia
http://astroimg.org

[iceman]

Nice to see something picked it up, even if it's a 10s exposure at 2122nm!! :eyepop:

Will make for some nice wreckage to explore when we colonise the moon :)

[davidpretorius]

a fine target to chase zac.

btw, what do you think of the skynx???

[Dennis]

Hi Zac

Well done for trying, it was certainly worth the effort, just in case...

The Moon was behind trees for me, so I took the WO 80mm out into the street and viewed and as expected, nada.

Thanks for the link to the Hawaii site.

Cheers

Dennis

[Zac Pujic]

David,

The SkyNyx 2.1M is a bit hefty in price, but thats the only downside to it. The SkyNyx series come in the following models

2.0 model (640 X 480 with 7.4 um pixels)
2.1 model (1392 X 1040 with 4.65 um pixels)
2.2 model (huge chip with lots of pixels, 4.4 um in size).

I bought the 2.1 since I could afford it and didn't need to use a higher f/ratio than with the ToUcam. This is because the 2.0 model has larger pixels than a ToUcam. The 2.1 has smaller pixels than the ToUcam and the 2.2 has even smaller pixels.

The noise is extremely low. Download is limited to 15 fps but thats adequate. Most telescopes don't collect enough light at high f/ratios to be very useful at 30 fps. It is light, easy to use and can be used for long exposures too - I've seen some great deep sky images taken with it.

I briefly thought of getting the DMK 21F04 but ultimately, the SkyNyx won out even though it's much pricier. And I'm very happy with it.

Zac

[davidpretorius]

I believe Damian P has gone the skynx way and I reckon it will be my next planetary camera

[iceman]

The large chip versions are great for solar/lunar work, but you'd definitely need a fast laptop to transfer that much data.

They're not quite as essential for planetary work, I don't believe. Although the 480px height is definitely close to the limits when working at long focal lengths.

[Zac Pujic]

It wasn't so much the larger chip size that interested me in the SkyNyx 2.1. It was its smaller pixels. It means that I can get the same image scale as the ToUcam but at a smaller f/ratio. That means shorter exposure times, less gain and therefore less noise. Also, region-of-interest means I can image small regions for the planets, and large regions for the Moon. I should have bought the SkyNyx 2.2 since it has even smaller pixels and a larger chip.

Also, a high speed computer is not that important for saving the data because programs such as Lucam Recorder will save the data to RAM first and then dump it onto the hard drive. That way no data is lost. I did buy a new computer when I bought the camera however since I was tired of long processing times and the MAP function on the new Registax beta, though providing MAP in an automated platform, still requires lots of processing time. I took 130 Gigs of data on Saturday night and I KNOW thats going to take a while to process.

Zac

[gaa_ian]

It even made the 7 O'clock news !
It will be interesting to see the data that is gleaned from the impact.

[glenc]

Smart 1 has amazing technology!
This is from the ABC.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200609/s1731775.htm

'Vanguard'
SMART-1 operations manager Octavio Camino-Ramos says the probe is the vanguard of future space missions. An engine type that has only been used once before, the ion thruster, has been driving the probe since it was placed into orbit. Ion engines are fuelled by xenon gas. The gas atoms are charged by electric guns powered by solar panels and are then expelled from the rear of the spacecraft, delivering a tiny thrust, visible as a ghostly blue glow. Compared with the blast, roar and smoke of chemical rockets, ion engines seem puny. But chemical engines burn out after a couple of minutes, whereas an ion engine can push on gently for months or even years.

Complex mission
Unlike the Deep Space mission's essentially straight-line trajectories, SMART-1 has had to carry out a complex series of manoeuvres. It had to loop repeatedly around the Earth to gain extra speed, yet also juggle with the moon's gravitational tug, all the time using a tiny engine that delivered the same power as someone picking up an A4-sized sheet of paper. Mr Camino-Ramos says the experience was "an adventure", comparing it to navigating a small sailboat buffeted by swirling winds and currents. He says the tiny thruster performed splendidly, even though it needed 14 months for a trip that took Apollo only three days.

[Dennis]

Thanks for that synopsis Glen - it was a very interesting read.

Cheers

Dennis

[ving]

nice try at capturing it zac. :)
and thanks for the link to the hawaii capture.

I see we are littering the moon before we colonise it to make it feel more homely huh?

[Robert_T]

Top marks for Trying Zac - it would have been quite a triumph if you had picked it up!!!