Photograph by NASA. Apollo 15 in lunar orbit.
THE LUNAR TRANSIENT PHENOMENA PROGRAM
by David Darling (website: HTTP://www.ltpresearch.org)
I have
always found it interesting to watch the tide come and go and observe the cycles
of nature, such as the passing of the seasons. These cycles seem to apply to
L.T.P. as well, when we go through a time period when the existence of the
phenomena is not well accepted by the scientific community. When talking about
lunar transient phenomena this subject periodically falls in and out of favor
with the scientific community. When it becomes an unpopular subject you see
condemning articles in different publications. If you read the article
published in Sky & Telescope magazine, September 1999: The Story Behind Lunar
Glows, Clouds, and Volcanoes. Page 118, you get the distinct feeling that L.T.P.
does not exist and if any one reports it, the authors are attributing it to poor
observational skills of the observer or the misinterpretation of what the
observer is really seeing. When reading this article they give strong logical
arguments concerning the credibility of the observations sited in the story. As
a casual reader who may not know anything about the phenomena I may be
convinced. But I have been there! I have over the last 20 years seen and
documented a few L.T.P. events myself. We then had the claim by Dr. Bonnie
Buratti of the J.P.L. that she had found two images taken by the Clementine
Spacecraft that showed changes on the lunar surface. This search of Clementine
images was done based on the ground-based observations done by the A.L.P.O.
Lunar Transient Phenomena Section. This report was published in The Strolling
Astronomer Journal of A.L.P.O. The Clementine Spacecraft A.L.P.O. LTP
Terrestrial Mission, August 1997. She made this claim at an astronomical
gathering and it got wide press in Sky & Telescopes Internet site. Several
months passed and a report was to be published in the March issue of Astronomy
magazine and instead she printed a retraction, in the Astronomy magazine Lunar
Activity doesn't pan out, March 2000 page 34.
We also have the disappointment with the Lunar Prospector mission and the
failure of the Alpha Particle Spectrometer to perform as well as hoped. Instead
the device was overwhelmed by solar activity, which overloaded the device making
it ineffective. When I planned the participation with the last two lunar
missions I concluded that this was a rare opportunity to monitor the Moon for
this elusive phenomena and to attempt to get satellite confirmation. It
appears that the torch has been passed back to the amateur astronomer once again
to search for these phenomena, who once again must make the attempt to present
to the scientific community the proof needed that this phenomenon is truly
emanating from our Moon. It will remain the duty of the amateur astronomer to
remain focused and disciplined to continue to provide quality observations that
can pass the test of scientific scrutiny.
This ground based observing effort in conjunction with a space shot is not new.
If one looks at the historical data the same effort was made during the Apollo
missions. The program was called LION or Lunar International Observing Network.
The record shows that a number of LTP reports were also witness by the
Astronauts in the Apollo Command Module. They looked for the phenomena after
ground-based observers activated the LTP
Network or LION program. It was reported in the Smithsonian Institution Center
For Short Lived Phenomena Annual Report 1969 dated 1 February 1970, that the
Apollo 11 astronauts on 19 July 1969 reported the following: "At between 18:45
to 18:47 GMTthe Apollo 11 Astronauts (passing at -47 degrees longitude at the
lunar equator on their first revolution after lunar orbit insertion, reported
"an illuminated area.. .brighter than anything else we can see... on the west
northwest.. .inner wall of (Aristarchus)". An independent message from Kaminsld
(Institute of Space Research, Bo chum, Germany) reported that Pruss and "Witte
observed a 5-7 second brightening in Aristarchus at 18:46 GMT."
Photograph by NASA. Apollo 15 in lunar orbit.
Needless to say that when I read a report like that it motivates me a great deal
to continue to monitor the Moon for this phenomena. There will always be nay sayers telling you what you should be seeing in the universe around us based on
their limited understanding of phenomena. If you think about it even the famed
astronomers Galileo and Copernicus were told by others what they should be
seeing. The critics did not want to be confused with facts. "Why I have gone
into this discussion is to give the lunar observer food for thought, and not to
become discouraged about pursuing this line of research. It is a grand adventure
full of surprises and jewels for those who take on the challenge and persevere.
Now that you have decided to participate with the observing program, what is the
next step? You will need to know where to look and what to look for. Also it's
important to understand what the features you are studying look like under their
normal lighting conditions. This means you need to become familiar with the
lunar formation under all aspects of the lunation. Once you have completed this
you can begin your observing program for LTP. There are a number of techniques
that have been developed over the years by LTP researchers and I have attempted
to gather this information into a single source document called the Lunar
Transient Phenomena Observers Manual. The manual is available upon request by
interested observers or can be accessed on my web page at:
http://www.ltpresearch.org This manual
will give you pointers on the different aspects of the observing program being
pursued and give instructions on how to document or record and LTP event.
Once you look at the Moon all you see is thousand upon thousand
of craters. You are probably wondering, ""Where should I start". Well it has
been found that a select number of lunar formations have a history of repeat
events. This being the case it narrows the search down to twenty-seven locations
on the Moon that you can begin your search.
The lunar formations are as follows:
The information presented in this table represent data taken from Lunar
Transient Phenomena Catalog July 1978, NSSDC/WDC-A-R&S 78-03. The catalog was
published by National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC)/World Data Center A for
Rockets and Satellites (WDC-A-R&S, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771. This
catalog covers time periods from 500 AD to 28 May 1977, and was authored by
Winifred S. Cameron.
"When watching the Moon for LTP there are several different approaches that can
come to play. You are already aware of the one observing program, which is done
in conjunction with a lunar mission. These are unique and rare opportunities and
it may be some time before the United States send another mission to the Moon. I
have read of plans to send spacecraft to the Moon by the European Space Agency,
Republic of China and the Japan. If this comes to pass we will have another
opportunity to make history.
The other kinds of observing programs that you can participate in are
coordinated observing campaigns. This consist of simultaneous observations of
specific lunar feature during a given observing window. These kinds of
observations can be very exciting once the observer's reports are compared to
see what every one saw.
The last kind of observation program is general monitoring of the Moon based on
the observer's availability. This program can be very effective and is well
tailored for the busy individual working full time, raising a family etc.
One question that always seems to come up is what kind of equipment do I need to
participate. You will have a much higher success rate with the larger the
aperture. I have found that increased aperture means increased contrast and so
the faint details and illuminations are more easily detected. This also hold
true when doing any kind of planetary work, if you have a small telescope there
are many subtle details that you are not able to resolve. One example that
remains vivid in my memory took place some years back when my friend David Weier
and myself could both see a faint illumination inside the crater Aristarchus. I
called a fellow observer, Robert Manske, and he could not make out the
illumination inside the crater. The difference was we were using a 12-½ f5
Newtonian reflector and Robert was using a SCT C8. The smaller telescope is an
excellent telescope in itself but could not give the needed contrast to reveal
the illumination inside the crater Aristarchus. I do not want to discourage the
observer whose only access is to a small telescope because good work can be
accomplished with them as well. I just mention all this to help the observer
guard against being over enthusiastic and become disappointed that they were not
successful in seeing anything. It takes time, patience and perseverance to be
successful as well as training your eye and mind to interpret the lunar surface
ever changing details. It is also important to remember that the observer does
not need to have latest technology available to them. I am glad to get observers
on board with CCD or video capability and who are skilled in the art of lunar
photography but I am also glad to get the observer who just uses their eyes.
Believe it or not the eye cannot be surpassed by any imaging device to date for
detecting subtle and faint details on lunar and planetary surfaces. You will
find that once your eye has been trained to lunar observing your ability to
detect these LTP events will be greatly enhanced.
If you feel this program is for you contact me at my email address
DOD121252@aol.com or drop me line.
David O. Darling
416 W. Wilson Street
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin 53590
United States of America