Seattle -
When you hear about a spaceship crashing, it's normally not a good thing but that's exactly what will happen on the moon.
At 4:30 AM Pacific Time Friday, October 9, 2009 the spacecraft LCROSS will make impact near the southern pole in an existing crater called Cabeus.
"The spacecraft has two pieces. The first is going to make a big impact a third the size of a football field. There will be a piece behind it that will make some observations, says Alice Enevoldsen of the Pacific Science Center.
Scientists think the blast will kick up a six mile long trail of debris full of lunar ice. Scientists will take pictures and examine the dust, looking for water molecules.
Karl Schroeder will be watching the mission as it happens from his backyard in Shoreline, through the telescope he made by hand.
"I think it's a great experiment," says Schroeder. "If there is water this lets people know if they are going to send man to the moon there is a resource there and there's enough of it."
Scientists say not only could the water be used for drinking, it could also be made into oxygen and rocket fuel.
People living west of the Mississippi River are expected to have the best view. If you don't have your own telescope that's at least 10 inches in diameter, you can catch the crash on NASA'S web site or live on NASA-TV.
The Tacoma Astronomical Society will be at Pacific Lutheran University's W.M. Keck Observatory for the LCROSS impact. There will be streaming video of both the NASA imagery as well as direct images from their 16" telescope. The observatory is located on the PLU campus near the golf course and baseball fields. People can meet there from 3:45 AM until 5:00 AM to watch the crash.
At 4:30 AM Pacific Time Friday, October 9, 2009 the spacecraft LCROSS will make impact near the southern pole in an existing crater called Cabeus.
"The spacecraft has two pieces. The first is going to make a big impact a third the size of a football field. There will be a piece behind it that will make some observations, says Alice Enevoldsen of the Pacific Science Center.
Scientists think the blast will kick up a six mile long trail of debris full of lunar ice. Scientists will take pictures and examine the dust, looking for water molecules.
Karl Schroeder will be watching the mission as it happens from his backyard in Shoreline, through the telescope he made by hand.
"I think it's a great experiment," says Schroeder. "If there is water this lets people know if they are going to send man to the moon there is a resource there and there's enough of it."
Scientists say not only could the water be used for drinking, it could also be made into oxygen and rocket fuel.
People living west of the Mississippi River are expected to have the best view. If you don't have your own telescope that's at least 10 inches in diameter, you can catch the crash on NASA'S web site or live on NASA-TV.
The Tacoma Astronomical Society will be at Pacific Lutheran University's W.M. Keck Observatory for the LCROSS impact. There will be streaming video of both the NASA imagery as well as direct images from their 16" telescope. The observatory is located on the PLU campus near the golf course and baseball fields. People can meet there from 3:45 AM until 5:00 AM to watch the crash.
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