APACHE POINT OBSERVATORY AGILE: LCROSS Lunar Impact Observations

Apache Point Observatory 3.5m telescope observations of the 2009-10-09 LCROSS spacecraft impact on the Moon. The archive consists of FITS images of the event and calibration data, provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This is one of several data sets of Earth-based observations of the impact.

Use Cases

• Analyze the temporal evolution of the impact plume based on the sequence of FITS images.
• Calibrate instrument response for lunar observations using the included calibration data.
• Compare Earth-based observations with other LCROSS impact data sets mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Observations from a specific, documented event on 2009-10-09.
• Data originates from the Apache Point Observatory 3.5m telescope, a known facility.
• Includes both event images and calibration data.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Observations from the AGILE instrument on the Apache Point Observatory 3.5m telescope.

Time Range

2009-10-09

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:48:02.162191; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Lunar surface (impact site).