Transmission #5 from Tycho (LCROSS)

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not "Eureka" but "That's funny..." - Isaac Asimov

Phase of the Moon Today: Third Quarter 45% of Full

The quote above is from the famous author Isaac Asimov who is best known for his science fiction books and articles. He wrote over 500 books in his lifetime the most popular belonging to the seven volume Foundation series. When I first heard of the LCROSS mission I thought this was something out of a science fiction novel. I did however think that it was extremely interesting and exciting and what great timing with me just starting my lunar geology course.

I woke up at 5:25am on Friday morning to watch NASA TV and catch the exciting culmination of the LCROSS impact. I wanted to try and watch the Moon outside but the weather has been lousy, so I watched the live feed from NASA. I have to admit, I should have stayed in bed. The images were not very dramatic and when the collision happened the screen went white. I'm not really sure what I was expecting but it was more than I saw. According to an article in the Edmonton Journal today, the debris plume that was thought to happen did not materialize and the "theatrics" that were expected failed to occur. When nothing happened to please the expectant audience I couldn't help but laugh a little ("that's funny") - although was a bit disappointed, no Eureka here.

Although the collision was a bust, NASA officials were confirming data collection from the satellite and it will be about 14 days before we get reports of what was found. What will be found? If they find more evidence for water does that mean a lunar base is viable/possible? It should be interesting, we'll just have to wait and see.

I showed the video (see link above) to my students in all my classes today. There was mixed reactions - "cool" , "that's it" , "why did they do that" it made for a great discussion and the interest was high. It's always great to use a current event to engage students - thanks YouTube!

Definitely a neat day in moon science.

Signing Off
KB