ALBERT

Description: We report the first scientific results from the NELIOTA (NEO Lunar Impacts and Optical TrAnsients) project, which has recently begun lunar monitoring observations with the 1.2-m Kryoneri telescope. NELIOTA aims to detect faint impact flashes produced by near-Earth meteoroids and asteroids and thereby help constrain the size-frequency distribution of near-Earth objects in the decimeter to meter range. The NELIOTA setup, consisting of two fast-frame cameras observing simultaneously in the R and I bands, enables – for the first time – direct analytical calculation of the flash temperatures. We present the first ten flashes detected, for which we find temperatures in the range ~1600 to 3100 K, in agreement with theoretical values. Two of these flashes were detected on multiple frames in both filters and therefore yield the first measurements of the temperature drop for lunar flashes. In addition, we compute the impactor masses, which range between ~100 g and ~50 kg.

Description: Context. This paper contains results from the first 30 months of the NELIOTA project for near-Earth objects and meteoroids impacting the lunar surface. We present our analysis of the statistics concerning the efficiency of the campaign and the parameters of the projectiles and those of their impacts. Aims. The parameters of the lunar impact flashes are based on simultaneous observations in two wavelength bands. They are used to estimate the distributions of the masses, sizes, and frequency of the impactors. These statistics can have applications in both space engineering and science. Methods. The photometric fluxes of the flashes are measured using aperture photometry and their apparent magnitudes are calculated using standard stars. Assuming that the flashes follow a black body law of irradiation, the temperatures can be derived analytically, while the parameters of the projectiles are estimated using fair assumptions on their velocity and luminous efficiency of the impacts. Results. There have been 79 lunar impact flashes observed with the 1.2 m Kryoneri telescope in Greece. The masses of the meteoroids range between 0.7 g and 8 kg, and their respective sizes between 1 and 20 cm, depending on their assumed density, impact velocity, and luminous efficiency. We find a strong correlation between the observed magnitudes of the flashes and the masses of the meteoroids. Moreover, an empirical relation between the emitted energies of each band has been derived, allowing for an estimation of the physical parameters of the meteoroids that produce low energy impact flashes. Conclusions. The NELIOTA project has so far the highest detection rate and the faintest limiting magnitude for lunar impacts compared to other ongoing programs. Based on the impact frequency distribution on the Moon, we estimate that sporadic meteoroids with typical masses less than 100 g and sizes less than 5 cm enter the mesosphere of the Earth with a rate of ~108 meteoroids h−1 and also impact Moon with a rate of ~8 meteoroids h−1.

Description: We present the technical specifications and first results of the ESA-funded, lunar monitoring project “NELIOTA” (NEO Lunar Impacts and Optical TrAnsients) at the National Observatory of Athens, which aims to determine the size-frequency distribution of small near-Earth objects (NEOs) via detection of impact flashes on the surface of the Moon. For the purposes of this project a twin camera instrument was specially designed and installed at the 1.2 m Kryoneri telescope utilizing the fast-frame capabilities of scientific Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor detectors (sCMOS). The system provides a wide field-of-view (17.0′ × 14.4′) and simultaneous observations in two photometric bands (R and I), reaching limiting magnitudes of 18.7 mag in 10 s in both bands at a 2.5 signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) level. This makes it a unique instrument that can be used for the detection of NEO impacts on the Moon, as well as for any astronomy projects that demand high-cadence multicolor observations. The wide field-of-view ensures that a large portion of the Moon is observed, while the simultaneous, high-cadence, monitoring in two photometric bands makes possible the determination of the temperatures of the impacts on the Moon’s surface and the validation of the impact flashes from a single site. Considering the varying background level on the Moon’s surface we demonstrate that the NELIOTA system can detect NEO impact flashes at a 2.5 S/N level of ∼12.4 mag in the I-band and R-band for observations made at low lunar phases (∼0.1). We report 31 NEO impact flashes detected during the first year of the NELIOTA campaign. The faintest flash was at 11.24 mag in the R-band (about two magnitudes fainter than ever observed before) at lunar phase 0.32. Our observations suggest a detection rate of 1.96 ×  10−7 events km−2 h−1.