POSSIBLE IMPACT EVENT ON JUPITER

[Vonnie]

POSSIBLE IMPACT EVENT ON JUPITER

Did something just hit Jupiter?

On July 19th, a black "scar" appeared in Jupiter's clouds similar to the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacts of 1994. Veteran Jupiter observer Anthony Wesley photographed the feature from his observatory in Murrumbateman, Australia:

"The jet-black mark is near Jupiter's south pole (south is up in the image)," says Wesley. "I have imagery of that same location from two nights earlier without the impact mark, so this is a very recent event. The material has already begun to spread out in a fan shape on one side, and should be rapidly pulled apart by the fast jetstream winds. I recorded a lot of footage, and will be generating more images and a rotation animation soon."

Amateur astronomers around the world should train their telescopes on Jupiter tonight to monitor the progress of this possible impact event: sky map. Stay tuned for more images and updates.

http://spaceweather.com/

[Vonnie]

JUPITER SMACKED:

Evidence is mounting that something hit Jupiter no more than a few days ago. The impact site was discovered by amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley on July 19th.

Using a 14.5-inch telescope at his backyard observatory in Murrumbateman, Australia, he photographed a dark scar in Jupiter's clouds. NASA astronomers rushed to confirm the find, and with this photo from the Infrared Telescope Facility in Hawaii:

The bright spot is near-infrared sunlight reflected from particulate matter floating through the top of Jupiter's atmosphere. These particulates are likely debris from something that hit the planet and exploded.

"This has all the hallmarks of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacts of 1994," says Leigh Fletcher of JPL who gathered the infrared data along with colleague Glenn Orton.

http://spaceweather.com/

[Sanctid]

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