Post by Man in Black on Jul 26, 2009 21:17:25 GMT -5
A large comet or asteroid has slammed into the Jupiter, creating an impact site the size of Earth. Computer programer Anthony Wesley discovered the impact while stargazing at home.
This is too cool. I wonder what it was or if we'll ever know. If this guy hadn't spotted it we probably never known about it at all.
NASA's [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] (JPL) confirmed the discovery using its infrared telescope at Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
Now they have moved Hubble into position to capture the new impact...
This Hubble picture, taken on July 23, by the new Wide Field Camera 3, is the sharpest visible-light picture taken of the atmospheric debris from a comet or asteroid that collided with Jupiter on July 19. This is Hubble's first science observation following its repair and upgrade in May. The size of the impactor is estimated to be as large as several football fields.
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and H. Hammel (Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.), and the Jupiter Impact Team
"Because we believe this magnitude of impact is rare, we are very fortunate to see it with Hubble," said Amy Simon-Miller of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Details seen in the Hubble view shows a lumpiness to the debris plume caused by turbulence in Jupiter's atmosphere."
"Hubble's truly exquisite imaging capability has revealed an astonishing wealth of detail in the impact site," Hammel said. "By combining these images with our ground-based data at other wavelengths, our Hubble data will allow a comprehensive understanding of exactly what is happening to the impact debris."
This is too cool. I wonder what it was or if we'll ever know. If this guy hadn't spotted it we probably never known about it at all.
NASA's [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] (JPL) confirmed the discovery using its infrared telescope at Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
Now they have moved Hubble into position to capture the new impact...
This Hubble picture, taken on July 23, by the new Wide Field Camera 3, is the sharpest visible-light picture taken of the atmospheric debris from a comet or asteroid that collided with Jupiter on July 19. This is Hubble's first science observation following its repair and upgrade in May. The size of the impactor is estimated to be as large as several football fields.
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and H. Hammel (Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.), and the Jupiter Impact Team
"Because we believe this magnitude of impact is rare, we are very fortunate to see it with Hubble," said Amy Simon-Miller of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Details seen in the Hubble view shows a lumpiness to the debris plume caused by turbulence in Jupiter's atmosphere."
"Hubble's truly exquisite imaging capability has revealed an astonishing wealth of detail in the impact site," Hammel said. "By combining these images with our ground-based data at other wavelengths, our Hubble data will allow a comprehensive understanding of exactly what is happening to the impact debris."
