Best Video of a Lunar Meteor Impact Recorded 2006 May 2

A 10-in. telescope captured the flash in Alabama - New 2006 June 14

Details of the flash from a 7th-mag. meteor impact in Mare Nubium that lasted 0.4 seconds was video recorded by Heather McNamara and Danielle Moser using a special 10-inch telescope at the Marshall Space Flight Center, discovered in the video tape by Nick Hollon, and analyzed by Bill Cooke. As far as I know, nobody else in another location independently confirmed it, but now there is little doubt that they did record a lunar meteor impact. But few would believe them, or even try these observations, if Brian Cudnik, Pedro Valdez Sada, David Palmer, Rick Frankenberger, and I hadn't obtained separated confirming videos of 7 lunar Leonids hitting the Moon in 1999. The video of the 2001 Leonid impact that Tony Cook, Roger Venable, and I recorded is almost as impressive as this new one that was made with equipment more optimized to the task.

On 2006 June 13, Brian Cudnik wrote:

  Yes this is WAY COOL and certainly a motivation for
  those of us interested in lunar meteor phenomena to
  get busy watching the moon in support of this fruitful
  campaign. Any and all supporting observation, on a
  monthly basis, is welcome and encouraged, visual or
  video, and send these to me. I am in contact with the
  individuals who are working this campaign so your
  obseravations would definitely go for a worthly cause!

  Thanks...Brian Cudnik, cudnik@sbcglobal.net

Click here for the NASA story about this remarkable 
lunar impact flash, including a slow-motion version of the video and 
the event's light curve.

David Dunham, President, I.O.T.A.
Phone:  home 301-474-4722
      office 240-228-5609
        cell 301-526-5590
dunham@starpower.net