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Christopher Go via SpaceWeather.com
Click for video: A video frame shows the flash of light created by a cosmic impact on Jupiter, as recorded by Philippine astronomer Christopher Go. Click on the image to watch a 2-second video clip from SpaceWeather.com.
Just as astronomers were telling the world that they figured out what gave Jupiter a black eye last July, yet another cosmic impact left a mark on the giant planet today. And this time, it was caught on video.
Actually, two of the world's best-known amateur observers of Jupiter both saw the flash of impact at 20:31 GMT today (4:31 p.m. ET). In Australia, Anthony Wesley captured a picture of the hit just before sunrise Friday (Down Under time). And in the Philippines, Christopher Go turned his pictures into a short video that was posted on SpaceWeather.com.
"I still can't believe that I caught a live impact on Jupiter," SpaceWeather quoted Go as saying.
It's not known exactly what caused the impact, but whether it was an asteroid or a comet, it's likely to have left a mark on Jupiter's cloud tops. So the call has gone out for all astronomers, professional and amateur, to monitor Jupiter in the hours ahead.
Great Black Spot analyzed
It was Wesley who first noticed the earlier hit on Jupiter, occurring on July 19, 2009. Actually, last year's impact occurred while the planet was turned away from Earth, so at the time, no one really knew what caused the "Great Black Spot" that persisted for months. But in the June 1 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters, astronomers say the culprit was likely an asteroid rather than a comet. That would make last year's impact the first time before-and-after pictures have been taken of an asteroid smashing into a planet.
To reach their conclusion, astronomers compared months' worth of Black Spot snapshots from the Hubble Space Telescope with images captured 15 years earlier, when broken-up pieces of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 plunged into Jupiter's atmosphere.
One team of astronomers, led by Heidi Hammel of the Colorado-based Space Science Institute, found key differences between the 1994 and the 2009 impacts. Ultraviolet imagery from 1994 revealed distinct halos around the impact sites, indicating that fine dust persisted after the impacts. The UV images also showed a strong, lingering contrast between the impact sites and the surrounding cloud cover. The astronomers took that as a sign that material from Shoemaker-Levy 9's cometary coma was hanging around in the upper cloud layers.
The aftermath of the 2009 impact, which hit with the force of thousands of nuclear bombs, was different. The UV images showed no halos, and the UV contrast quickly faded. The astronomers said the fast fade suggested that the particles left behind by last year's blast precipitated out of the clouds more rapidly. That would be "consistent with material that is more asteroidal than cometary in origin," they wrote.
NASA / ESA / Hubble Impact Team
Hubble Space Telescope snapshots show an impact scar on Jupiter fading from view over several months in 2009.
The elongated shape of last year's "Black Spot" suggested that the asteroid came in at a shallower angle than the comet did. In a separate research paper, also appearing in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, astronomers analyze traces left behind in the Black Spot to figure out the path that the asteroid might have taken to collide with Jupiter. They conclude that the object could have come from the Hilda family of small bodies, a secondary asteroid belt consisting of more than 1,100 objects orbiting near Jupiter.
Anthony Wesley, the amateur astronomer who started it all, is listed as one of the authors of that paper.
In a NASA news release, Hammel said last July's impact was a testament to the contributions made by amateur astronomers. "This event beautifully illustrates how amateur and professional astronomers can work together," she said.
Now it's time for them to work together again, in the wake of today's smashing flash.
More about Jupiter and asteroids:
- How Jupiter changes its spots
- Lessons from Jupiter's black eye
- Action urged on asteroids
- Obama's asteroid goal could be riskier than moon
- Interactive: Close encounters of the asteroid kind
Heidi Hammel is lead author of "Jupiter After the 2009 Impact: Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of the Impact-Generated Debris and Its Temporal Evolution." Other authors include M.H. Wong, J.T. Clarke, I. de Pater, L.N. Fletcher, R. Hueso, K. Noll, G.S. Orton, S. Perez-Hoyos, A. Sanchez-Lavega, A.A. Simon-Miller and P.A. Yanamandra-Fisher.
Agustin Sanchez-Lavega of the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, Spain, is lead author of "The Impact of a Large Object on Jupiter in 2009 July." Other authors include A. Wesley, G. Orton, R. Hueso, S. Perez-Hoyos, L.N. Fletcher, P. Yanamandra-Fisher, J. Legarreta, I. de Pater, H. Hammel, A. Simon-Miller, J.M. Gomez-Forrellad, J.L. Ortiz, E. Garcia-Melendo, R.C. Puetter and P. Chodas.
Join the Cosmic Log corps by signing up as my Facebook friend or hooking up on Twitter. And if you really want to be friendly, ask me about "The Case for Pluto."
Leave a Comment:
How cute that Jupiter just happens to be around to protect the earth from meteorites and comets!
A scientific study reported in Aug. 2007 demonstrated that Jupiter does NOT protect Earth from impacts, rather, the opposite is true, Jupiter it draws rocks INTO the solar system and flings them TOWARDS us.
"Contrary to prevailing wisdom, Jupiter does not protect Earth from comet strikes. In fact, Earth would suffer fewer impacts without the influence of Jupiter's gravity, a new study says…A new study by Jonathan Horner and Barrie Jones of Open University in Milton Keynes, UK, shows that if there were no planet at all in Jupiter's orbit, Earth would actually be safer from impacts…[Jupiter's] gravity helps pull comets into the inner solar system, where they have a chance of hitting Earth."
- Newscientist.com, August 24, 2007
This same conclusion was again reported by the New York Times on July 25, 2009 after last year's (July 24, 2009) asteroid impact on Jupiter.
What's curious is how, by a thousand to one margin, consumers have been trained to view impacts on Jupiter as a "Jovial" friendly reminder of Big Bro Jupiter pretecting us. As soon as these planet impacts are reported we see dozens/hundreds of posts comments repeating this view as of wishful thinking error about Jupiter "protecting" us. These ill informed posts speak much to the need for denial over the rocks that will surely impact here (so much sooner than consumers will ever admit or believe - that's what today's news rally is about - our chance of impact is CERTAIN.
If you want to know the reality of threat faced by Earth, look up "rock prophecy" online (I'd add the link, but most websites are programmed to delete any mention of this censored site).
Lol, These pics are totally edited. Good Game, fakes.
i say the black spot on the planet was a oil spill and since aliens are probly light years ahead of us it didnt take them long to clean it and probly ended uyp cleanin other parts of the planet and what ever they were usin blow up in there faces....i dont kno but thats my theory..btw God bless america
@jimi Science allows for the possibility of inaccuracy, which is how theories change.
Unlike scripture and prophecy.
That's just plain stupid.If Jupiter wasn't there,Earth would no doubt be in an entirely different orbit.Know what that means? Very good chance there would be no life,as we know it, on earth and the whole arguement would be moot. Idiots.
It is cute...just like a big brother should! But it changes it's spots almost as much as the president...
well if we would choose a solid color president maybe he wouldnt change his spots
I did it again. I bumped an extremely racist comment up to a 2. God, I can't believe you people actually get these posted!
Either way, you're a bigot--whether you're implying that Pres. Obama should be "all" black--or "all" white. You must be from the same planet as planet claire--just on the dark side. Don't have a baby together, idiots!
Darrah,
I'm so happy to live on an island where there is no difference between races....
Racists are not funny... they are indeed idiots and should consider the results of their actions...
Aloha,
Oops...I mean little brother, earth was created first. My bad...
And you've reached this brilliantly insightful conclusion how, exactly? By using modern astronomic science? Or by literal interpretation of some questionable translations of certain texts written a few thousand years ago by a people whose claim to fame lay closer to pastoral agriculture than to cosmology?
jdb1982,
Isn't the notion that Earth was created first in line with the accretion time-lines proposed by the nebular hypothesis? From what I've read, I would tend to agree with Daystar. Thanks for your thought-provoking statements!
As much as the president, huh? So long as it keeps protecting us...
Astronomy is so cool.
Lucky, indeed. Considering that if an object were able to make to earth, we would be totally unprepared to do anything about it. Thanks, Jupiter.
Had an object that size hit Earth, we wouldn't be around to post about it.
Interesting how everyone has to relate even something like this to the presidency.
It's better something hitting Jupiter than Mars and the Earth, or else...
Something didn't hit Jupiter something left! run the film a frame at a time and from left to write you will see the light start at the planet and leave.Huh
Have viewed several videos at different levels of magnification. Have to admit there is something odd about this, some flashes of light actually look like lightning moving in jagged fashion, however there is a lot of atmospheric distortion since this was taken from Earth.Will have to await further review.
correct Left to right, the light starts from the left coming from the planet not heading to it
Kinda makes you wonder what is in that big ole pile of gas!!...wonder if a piece of mettalic hydrogen could be knocked out by an incoming object?
Hydrogen is not a metallic gas but, Helium is. Theories are that under the extreme pressure and gravitational influence...that Solid Helium metal exists at Jupiters core. Being that it's a metal spinning at Jupiters core, it acts like huge Dynamo..., it caused Jupiter to have an enormous magnetic field 1000's of times more powerful than earths.
F.Y.I.
we should all be thankful for Jupiter. It is still a very active solar system. Sooner or later though - something large will visit our fair planet and drop in for a visit. Astronomy is VERY exciting.
Jupiter probably had a volcanic eruption that would be considered catastrophic on earth to be seen this far away. Just another 'burp' for our distant cuz.
How can a gas giant without a solid surface have seismic activity or volcanic eruptions?
Maybe obama said it does.
What does obama has to do with any of this? Please explain. Just another way to blame him for something. Get a grip.
I agree with "reality check." King David , you need a reality check. Pres. Obama is the BEST president this country has ever seen! Some people just don't know how to deal with it.
DEAL WITH IT!!
The BEST President we have ever seen?
Wow, I am actually speechless. He hasn't been in office long enough to determine success or failure.
I guess I am not totally "speechless". Time will tell, let us not deem him the best in less than 2 years. Washington, Lincoln, Eisonhower, Cleveland, Truman, Kennedy, Reagan......Dems and Repubs, proven successes and failures. Let's let him have a few years before we tout him as the BEST!
As far as I'm concerned, he's the best. I don't have to wait. I'm not trying to convince anyone else. That's just one of the many great things about a democratic society. :)
Whether or not Obama (or any other president) is the best, what does any of that have to do with Jupiter?
It was Obama's ego that struck Jupiter.
Great to see amatuer astronomers contributing to our knowledge base of space. The more telescopes trained upon things like Jupiter around the world the more likely it is to capture hits from comets or asteroids hitting. Looks like we could have missed a whole lot of hits on Jupiter before now, but now more will keep watching to be Johnny on the Spot when the next hit happens. Great to see the professional astronomers working with and giving credit to amatuer astronomers.
Only on the Internet could something COMPLETELY separated from politics be made into a stupid political comment. Does anyone think that we will EVER reach a time when people will stop gushing pure hatred for anything and everything that doesn't completely and utterly agree with their radical political agenda??
Q: Good morning. Beautiful weather we're having, yes?
A: HAH!!! It will NEVER be beautiful with that B@STARD in the White House!!!!
Whereupon they pull out guns and shoot each other to death, wounding 13 in the gathering crowd.
Such is the state of political discourse in this formerly great country.
"I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
maybe we should research our world more? learn more about the ocean depth pressure before we go drilling wells.. lets go to jupiter and search for oil!!
NO! I know you were kidding, sort of....but rather than drilling anywhere for more oil, we need to put $ and brains into finding other energy solutions...such as solar. And move at hyper-speed on finding these solutions, as if our lives depended on it...which they do!
What carolyn-452703 said, right - on!
Nothing 'left' Jupiter. It was the trajectory of the object pulled in by the gravity well, and the faint light was the initial impact in the upper atmosphere of the planet. The larger light was either when it impacted a more dense region or the explosion of the object.
Mabye Jupiter is trying to ignite and become a star!
Wonder what kind of impact that wouls have on our Solar system
Planets don't "ignite" into stars. At least not in any of the classes or readings I have seen. As far as our solar system, I think two suns would devestate it.
Just my opinion, no right or left wing nut job banter to follow, just mindless speak!!
Have a great night, beer.....it's a good thing.
All these worlds are yours, except Europa. Attempt no landing there. Use them together. Use them in peace.
"They" are getting ready to visit earth openly.
The "Anti-Christ" has summoned "Them".
For you, who are blind I am referring to the anti-christ and the demons from hell.
You know them as obama, "the annointed one" and his gang in the White House & Government.
Uh, settle down Beavis!
the immortal nature of any person's being will continue after all the disasters destroy this planet... i am not finite, even though the form in which i reside is... crazy people are just frightened... a little bit of knowledge or knowledege and information filitered through some other person can cause panic... right now, we should all be working to center the resources of this nation on the oil leaking out killing the gulf of mexico, not looking at the politics of any other nation... no one is ever satisfied with the president, no matter what party he comes from... we elect men as presidents and leaders, not miracle workers... we place faith in the government and pray to politicians to make things right... man's law has replaced the laws of this living planet and the unmoved mover who set it into motion...we name things only to limit them so our tiny minds can grasp them...then we have destroyed the infinite only to understand... stop trying to frighten others by using a inadequate language to stir up that which is beyond understanding... let it be, my friend
you are an idiot
More racist blather from Dubya's Boyz.
Look man... I won't deny that it was crazy blather... I didn't see anything racist in it though. Criticism of Obama is not necessarily racist. He is not beyond reproach. That would be a grave mistake for us to give him or any president that pass.
Just saying...
WOW.........leave it to another religious whack job to turn a blip on Jupiter political.....!!
I keep reading and there you are again, King David. I feel like I'm reading the Bible. It's soo sad that in this day age we can't read about science without being bombarded by these right-wing nut jobs.
And you are certifiable, my friend.
Why is it racist to disagree with or not believe in the president? Am I a "Left Winger" for disagreeing with unjust wars & The Patriot Act Pres. Bush gave us? Am I a "Right Winger" for being disenfranchised with Pres. Obama's campaign promises of bringing troops home. Yet later increased troops & ex-panded these wars ? No. I do not believe in or put any hopes into these men. They are not there to represent you & I. Its about corporate greed & false hopes. String us along fighting & arguing over a FAKE left/right paradigm only to be left empty handed & without hope. The quicker we realize this, the faster we can escape this matrix. And begin to rebuild this beautiful melting pot of people & ideals we call America. You are ALL my brothers & sisters & i do truly luv this species. So with that said Thx Jupiter for taking another extinction event for us. I believe we have a beautiful future. I believe in humanity.
Well said, Mandeo Five. But I disagree on some points. My brother is in Afghanistan, but Pres. Obama is not responsible for the wars (2). My brother was in also in Iraq. Who's to blame for those? Former Pres. Bush. Mr. Obama needed to send extra troops to be able to get us out of the war safely. He does know his strategy and is willing to listen to experts.
You don't have to continue believing in Pres. Obama. I'm not the kind of voter who throws the baby out with the bath water. I still have faith in him and will vote for him next time.
And no, I wasn't referring to you or any other conservative as a right-wing nut. I was referring to the right-wing nuts.
Didn't mean to offend you.
Take care.
LOL, Titicaca! I think KD has eaten too much sugar and is channelling Cornholio again!
Mondeo Five - I actually happen to be a HUGE supporter of President Obama. The thing that people who are disappointed by the government seem to forget is that there are checks and balances here in this country. So although the President would like to bring the troops home (which he said would happen starting in 2011) and give us a public option in healthcare... we have idiots like Michelle Bachman & Company who filibuster any and everything proposed by the President and/or any elected progressive!
I think that the problem is that the progressives are too weak. In America, the politiocal balance is shifted in favour of that of the conservatives. For example, when a conservative judge is appointed, they are not labled "activist." Any efforts to advance progress is branded as "anti-American" and the progressives are scared to death of such rhetoric. So, although we currently have more Democrats in the legislature, and we also have a Democratic President, our side of the political debate is ALWAYS considerred to be the minority. Idiots like Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and the "tea baggers" don't help the cause either. And Democrats, for the most part, are reluctant to stand their ground, so they negotiate only to still NOT get any Republican support! In the end, the progressive/Democratic base is pissed... and the Republicans would be pissed no matter WHAT was proposed! The result: NO ONE'S HAPPY!
Like you, I am also disappointed with American politics, for that reason... IT'S NOT PROGRESSIVE ENOUGH!!! Until I can afford to relocate to Canada, I will continue to support President Obama, support elected Democrats, support progressives in election primaries (as opposed to "blue dog, conservative Democrats"), and vote for the Democrat in general elections.
Speaking of Canada, I admit, it seems that their nation's political shift is in the other direction. So if I were a Canadian political conservative, I'd probably be working on immigrating to America.
Right on brother! You know and speak the "truth". May God bless you.
RazorSharp215-How much do you need to relocate? Every single one of you nuts who think the Progressive Movement is the answer to either short or long term problems of the USA is just simply naive. I am not a Republican, but the Republicans OFFERRED numerous suggestions on healthcare and were shut-out by the Democrats. How you can say teh Democrats didn't 'stay their ground' is just mind boggling. They passed a bill, that the public read more of than they did, without giving a rat's a*s as to what a huge number of Americans wanted: "Not to block the bill, but to slow down and think it through, not ram it down our throats". Read your history books, show me one "Progressive" society that didn't turn into a dictatorship. Just one. Grow up, provide for yourself, quit trying to demonize others who work harder, or go to Canada like you suggested. I'll pay, so what's your excuse now. By the way, Canada's healthcare system just came close to going belly-up, but it's probably the better choice don't you think. And by the way, a filibuster is the practice of checks and balance, it gives the minority a chance to slow things down.
Carolyn, your wish is about to be announced (Green Energy Capture!). Before the end of this year, watch for the first of millions of brand new California Wind Engines (residential sized, urban friendly, hi - rise and commercial units, and massive Utility Company Wind Farm installations). Up to 25 times more powerful than the 3 - bladed bat and bird killers that are the current winning format. To be common as Frigidaires.
Astronomy. If a globe 186 million miles in diameter is postulated, with the Sun at its' center, and a B - B only seven thousand miles in diameter is set on that globe, that is us, the earth interrupting its small part of that giant globe (the power of the solar wind at that 93 milion mile level above the center of the Sun. Hypothesize a point at the center of the Sun and draw a cone out, to be 7,000 miles in diameter 93 million miles above the point. Now travel down that cone to the "surface" of the Sun (which radius is 430,000 miles above the center point) and you will find that the diameter of the cone at the "surface" is about 35 miles. That 35 miles of Sun surface (about the size of the Las Vegas Valley) represents ALL of the solar energy that the ENTIRE EARTH receives from our 860,000 mile diameter Sun! And astronomers catalogue our Sun as a "yellow dwarf"! Gotta love astronomy!!!
wait , i cant seem to scale that right with crayons
Why don't we put something on Ganymede so we can observe Jupiter up close all the time?
how certain can any of us be about what is taking place so far away... we are but tiny specks inside tiny specks with no true sense of reality... we are limited by our senses as to what we can see and hear, and yet we are deteermined to define and thereby limit what our senses perceive.
That wasn't an impact! It was a launch! Beware, Jovians are coming!
Comet? Asteroid? Hemorrhoid? Those theories are nuts, it was obviously a UFO just like Roswell. I'm heading out on the streets with my teabags and my cardboard sign. Help us Moses!
No relation to King David the 2nd by the way. Bathsheba is one of my wives.
Glad to know that. I thought King David 2 had changed his name to king Dave. It would be scary to have two King David 2's running around outside the asylum. Whoa!
What do you mean, we run the asylum. And we don't chain people to the bumpers of our cars! SC.
Wow, low blow, King Dave! I didn't chain anyone to the bumper of my car and neither did my relatives. How did you know it wasn't MY relatives who were chained to a car? You don't. You're doing a whole lot of assuming and judging, which sounds like you may be prejudiced against people from SC. Don't you think?
Guess what idiot? Some of My ancestors and relatives DID suffer from the hand of white southerns. Did you ever hear of the Eastern band of Cherokees? Wise up! And just for the record, we don't hold a grudge against white southerns. Sometimes we marry them. Sometimes we marry northerners. (Sometimes that seems like a mistake, but I don't hold it against my husband that he's from Philly;)
Why don't you be brave and allow me to know where YOU'RE from? Could it be a cave?
Hmmm, with a moniker like "King Dave", you must have a complex. You definitely have some sort of problem. Do you have a problem with Indians, or are you the kind who says"I work with one", or something else completely absurd? Don't worry, we don't do no scalping anymore.
I forgot the most important thing, King Dave the bigot. Not only is my husband from Philly, he's black! And by God, don't you know he sleeps soundly at night? He's not afraid of me tying him up to the bumper of my car OR scalping him!
But he would be afraid of people like you. Predudice is predudice, no matter what form it comes in. Remember that, good buddy. You'll be doing the world a favor. Until then, stay under the rock you were obviously born under.
From Darrah's hubby,
You need to grow up fast, son. You just pissed off a black man from philly and an American Indian woman. We ain't down with that north vs. south, white vs. black, Indian vs. the white man, so on and so on. Evidently you're gonna be on a list for making an inflammatory remark.
This is entertaining, in a sad way.
I agree with John. I have read through most of these posts and I'm pretty sure most of these people are downright nuts. It's hilarious, and really, it's very sad. Jupiter got hit. Why are we bringing racism, politics, and all this other bull into it? I'm trying to figure out how Obama and all the other random things people are talking about got pulled into this. I'm not a big supporter of our government system in general but I don't think the way our government is run has much to do with an event that happened on Jupiter's surface.
I don't mean to offend anyone but seriously!